Boys Are Man's Best Fiends
by Still A Lover Of Franchises
Summary: " He's fast and she's weird. " Maria said. Steve nodded, " What about the third one, the boy? " Before Maria could say anything Steve said, " Keep it simple. " Maria then said, " He has cybernetic implantments and millions of tiny robots in his bloodstream that he uses to make stuff. " Steve could only say one thing, " Yeah they'll be back. "
1. It's just frickin' beginning

Just to let all of you know this story doesn't start on Earth. _No_ Star Lord or anyone else like that is going to appear, there will be people from the _movie_ no one special though, but there might be references. Enjoy. I don't own any of the stuff I'm writing about except my OC. Sorry if it's boring at first but in every story I feel like you should introduce other characters then just the most important one.

* * *

Thin wails of pain coming from a slowly dying body echoed through a small room where windows were surrounding it. Scientist were watching through the windows eager to see the results of their experiment.

A man was standing in front of a window watching with a bored expression as he watched the body twitched one last time until it collapses, blood started flowing from its mouth. The body was once a beautiful innocent Krylorian, but now it was a bloody corpse on the floor.

" She's dead obviously. Great now what? Do we throw her off the ship or dump her onto a nearby planet? We've got to hurry boss 'cause the Nova Corp has been on our tails since we recruited that Xandarion. " A voice said behind the man, who was silently watching several doctors and scientist gather in a group discussing their next move and ideas.

The man turned around revealing a pale face with short blond hair and blue eyes. He was stout and held an air of sick satisfaction. In a composed voice he answered, " I don't do things without thinking of the consequences Mr. Steg like you do, I think it through with very _thorough_ planning. Let me remind you of why you're not dead right now- "

" You've gotta be joking me! It was one time and nothing bad came out of it. So what, she's already dead and you knew that was going to happen! " Steg revealed himself to be a Guna, a large blue alien that was practically a mountian of muscles with an obvious sadistic smile. He owed Maru for saving him from imprisonment with his brother who was as thug-like as Steg himself. Of course, it's not like he brags about his physique.

The man continued with a more irritated tone, " Don't interrupt me. You know raping one of our test subjects could've possibly ruined the experiment's results! " The man took a deep breath before continuing, " I'm sorry about that outburst but you must understand this- do that again Mr. Steg and you're _dead. "_

Steg snorted, pretending to not be imitated by the man, but didn't say anything else. Steg remembers what happens to the people who had angered the man in front of him. He'll never forget the first unrecognizable corpse being dragged out of the ship to be dumped off so no one can find it. The very memory made him shudder in fear. So Steg broke the deadly silence with a question, " So.. Who are you going to pick now as a new subject, Doctor Maru? "

The man or Maru turned around pointing at screen which was now searching through several databases. It then eventually stopped, an image of a planet appeared. Steg looked at it in mild surprise. " Wait, so the next subject is Terran? But they're so," Steg paused for moment to think of a proper word to describe a human, he didn't know that much about them. " Weak! Yeah that's the word, I mean no offense Doctor Maru 'cause you were one before but, you're not exactly Terran anymore... " The alien trailed off in fear as Maru turned around.

" Well if you mean Mr. Steg, me not being Terran anymore due to my.. how do you say it? Ah yes! Due to my own tests of exposing myself to dangerous radiation causing my own mutation of new appendages. Then you're absolutly right. My tests didn't go exactly as planned, but I do have a longer lifespan and I age much slower. Of course I did know the consequences of being exposed to radiation, but it was worth it. " Maru responded in a slightly crazed voice revealing two extra arms that were typing in coordinates of their next stop.

" How old is the next subject then? "

" Unfortunatly he's 9 years old now. We'll have to wait for 3 years until he's the proper age. Because he will be more experienced, more intelligent and more.. defiant. " Maru said in a dark voice. He always enjoyed beating his subjects into submission, loving to watch that light of defiance dull away to nothing. He continued in a much more business like tone, " His body at the age of 9 won't help him survive the tests. At age 12 he'll be perfect and will be the key to my ultimate weapon. Subject 64F20 wasn't going to survive the tests either way if she was Terran or if you had not raped her. There were so many things she had wrong, that the cybernetic implantments should've just killed her, I admit the Krylorian surprised me just a tad. " Steg could only nod in response.

" So what do we do while waiting for three years? " A new voice joined into the conversation. The voice belonging to a Xandorion. Her name is Ornon. She was petite, had a steady frame, fair skin, and brown hair framed her face. You never would've guessed how dangerous she could be with two guns. She was an outlaw wanted by many criminals and people like the Nova Corp.

Maru looked at her with a smile, " A Ms. Ornon so nice of you to join us. I hope our crew have been treating you well? " Maru asked Ornon watching her have a stare contest with Steg.

Eventually though she turned back to Maru saying, " Fine, but that Sirusite didn't exactly give me a warm welcome. " Her response made Steg roll his eyes in a knowing way.

Maru nodded then said, " It will take a while to get everything we need to make my perfect weapon of destruction. But we will need to visit Terra I mean Earth every once in awhile. We don't need the weapon getting himself into trouble. There's no point in learning his name because once we have him, his new name will be 75G21.

 _" Also because we'll make him forget his name anyways. "_ Steg thought with a snort before heading to his room to prepare for trip.

" So let's get ready 'cause we're visiting a country on Earth called Sokovia. "

(Sokovia 2 years ago)

10 year old Pietro sat still behind the tree, waiting and hoping she won't find him. He thought he was safe until he heard a gleeful " I found you! "

Pietro didn't have time to react when a small body tackled him onto the ground. He groaned the minute his body hit the ground. The only thing he could look at was the grass, it was when he noticed that the body on top of him wasn't moving off of him only then did he crane his neck so he could see his twin. She was sitting on him triumphantly with a wide smile that Pietro made sure was always on her face.

" Are you going to get off me or use me as your chair? Did you really have to jump on me anyways Wanda? " Pietro asked in a teasing tone with a smirk on his face.

Wanda slowly slid off her twin brother obviously taking her time, " You would've ran if I didn't jump on you. Which I think is unfair since you're always faster than me. Whenever I'm the tagger you always get away, but when you're the tagger I always get caught so easily. So I jumped on you so you didn't get away. " Pietro sat up into a sitting position wiping the grass off his shirt.

" Being faster than you has a lot of advantages. Like if a bad guy comes and tries to get you, I can just run up to him and beat him up! Or when we're playing tag I win, well _usually_. " Pietro said pulling Wanda closer to him as if to ward off anyone even thinking of hurting his sister.

" You don't need to protect me like that. Not like anything is going to happen to us. We're the same age or did you forget? " Wanda said but didn't pull away from Pietro.

" Well first off I'm 12 minutes older than you. And second off I'm always going to protect you rather you like it or not. Cause you're my sister and I'm not going to let anyone hurt you on my watch. " Pietro promised in a serious tone, glaring off into the distance.

" What about that time I was at the pool and that mean girl tripped me into the water ruining my clothes? " Wanda asked with a smirk looking at Pietro as he furrowed his eyebrows.

He looked at his sister then pointed at her with an accusing finger, " That's not how I remembered it. I'm pretty sure that you tripped yourself into the pool. Plus I'm pretty sure that Talia isn't that bad, she's so nice to me. Heck, she gave a lot of candy last year for Valentines Day. " Pietro said then getting up pulling his sister up with him.

" Yeah well because she thinks for some reason that you're cute. " Wanda said in a mocking tone.

" Who doesn't think that I'm _handsome_? " Wanda rolled her eyes in response.

" Let's just go and help mama set the table for dinner. "

Ajdin didn't try to listen to the conversation happening around him. It was always about Papa's work or how his mama complained about all the things her friends were talking about. Ajdin couldn't wait to show his mama the pretty butterfly he made it was just, well pretty. His teacher said so herself.

" So son, how was your day? I heard that you made something that you would like to show us. You must be so proud of being the only 7 year old in class. " His papa said with a tired smile but it was real. Ajdin nodded enthusiastically hopping off his chair to get his butterfly. Just as he was going to get it he heard someone knock on his door two times. It was followed by several more knocks and Ajdin knew it wasn't going stop until he answered. When he opened the door he didn't expect the Maximoff twins standing in front of him. The girl, Wanda, was grabbing her brother's arm chastising him about always being too impatient. Her brother, Pietro, shrugged her off when the door open revealing Ajdin.

" Hi my name is Ajdin. Remember the time we met at the playground? " Ajdin asked looking up at the two siblings. Ajdin remembers watching the Maximoff twins playing in their backyard playing tag or hide and seek, wishing that he himself had a sibling like that.

Pietro nodded impatiently looking like he was just going to go into the house himself and get what he and his sister needed. " Yeah all we need is some sugar. " He said in a somewhat rude voice. Wanda gave her twin a look and sighed.

" Please. " She said in a much nicer tone.

Ajdin nodded and said, " Well just cause you said please! " He walked back inside asking his mama for some sugar, later on he came back with a sack of sugar.

" Thanks. "

After eating dinner Ajdin was helping clean the dishes when everything shook with such a ferocity that anything on the wall fell to the floor instantly!

 _Boom!_

Something huge flew past the window as it suddenly exploded right near the house. It seemed to happen in slow motion Ajdin didn't realize that his father grabbed him before the wall exploded.

" Stay here until I get your mama! " His father ordered before running towards the rubble frantically looking for his wife.

Ajdin didn't speak, but he touched one side of his head which was now covered in blood from the explosion. He got up from his position on the ground intending to help his papa found his mama. It was when his foot brushed a shard of metal did he looked down. On the piece of metal it read _Stark_.

Ajdin remembers his parents talking about a rich man named Tony Stark. How great his life must be without any worry of when his next meal will be. But what Ajdin didn't understand why someone like Tony Stark would do this. So Ajdin brushed the thoughts away about Stark and focused his attention to his father.

His father was pushing away rubble away completely disregarding the other side of the ruined house. That was where Ajdin saw it. A hand was sticking out, motionless. Without a second thought he ran towards the hand and managed to push away some debris off only to reveal something horrible. His mama's eyes were closed and she was bleeding from several wounds. She looked like she was sleeping.

" Mama? Wake up. Papa and me are okay. Mama we need to get out of here. Mama? " Ajdin shook his mama fruitlessly. He was suddenly pushed back by his papa who then picked up his wife in bridal style. Ajdin's papa looked at his wife before tears began to fall, he looked at his son with a look that said, _This is your fault!_

Horrible feelings suddenly fell over Ajdin that he never truly felt before. Grief and loss. Ajdin thought he knew what it felt like when his pet fish died. He cried a little bit because he worked so hard to buy it and take care of it. But now when he saw his mama's unmoving form he now truly knew what these meant. Then there was one more feeling that he was feeling too. Guilt. His papa seemed to blame him by the betrayed way he looked at him.

Ajdin cried and fell to his knees rethinking the scene that occurred minutes before. He didn't even know what was happening to the house beside his.

Minutes before the bombs hit their house Wanda barely got to sit down when a huge explosion threw her off her chair. The next minute she sees her parents fall through a hole another bomb created the second it blew up. Pietro reacted by grabbing his sister and carrying her under a bed, with himself in front of her to shield her from the heat and the debris flying around everywhere.

Wanda didn't dare to breathe when one of her parents killers landed right in front of her and her twin. The bomb lay perfectly still, smoke trailing behind it. Wanda looked at her brother who wasn't moving at all, only staring at the bomb afraid that it was going to blow up any second. It was the only time she saw her brother every be truly still. Even when they played hide and seek she could always find him because he was either tapping his foot or shifting around so much. Wanda never saw her brother so scared either. And that made her terrified. Wanda could hear cries of dispair in the distance. Looks like the bombs didn't just hit their house.

Pietro didn't know what to do to past the time while a bomb lay in front of them having the possibility to explode. So he sang his sister lullabies softly while he kept his eyes trained on the bomb. He stopped after the fifth lullaby when he looked back at his sister who was curled up into his side sleeping. Sleeping wasn't an option for Pietro so he stayed up all night watching the bomb. He looked at its partially visible side it read _Stark_.

Tony Stark immediately popped into Pietro's head as he remembered his papa complain about rich men and how they could throw half of their money away and still not worry about anything. Hatred bloomed into Pietro's heart as he thought bitterly, _" Rich men like Stark don't care about where he dumps his stuff. Rich men like him don't think about_ _consequences either. "_ Pietro looked back at his sister. His sister was all he had left and vice versa _._ He thought one more thing before he too fell asleep.

 _" Tony Stark will pay for this. "_


	2. Nightmares and Dreams

Pietro was slightly snoring when Wanda woke up the next day. The bomb was still sitting in all of it's glory. Note the sarcasm. Wanda shifted from her fetal position trying to stretch as much as she could without waking Pietro and to not disturb the bomb in anyway. Wanda took a minute to get a good look of her brother. To be honest, he looked horrible. He must've stayed up all night watching out for her. Guilt formed in Wanda's stomach. She should've helped, they might've been able to take shifts or something. Of course Pietro wouldn't of allowed it anyways. He was stubborn as he was quick.

Wanda then realized that they had no access to food or water. It wasn't like she wasn't hungry before but the familiar pang of hunger began to deepen. There was also the fact that they had a bomb right in front of them, waiting to blow up any second.

They had to get out of here eventually. Rescuers would come Wanda was sure about that. You know just around 98.4% sure but numbers don't matter as long as they were rescued.

Wanda coughed, smoke was everywhere and she could hear water dripping from pipes making everything even more dangerous. Suddenly she thought she heard something.

 _Crunch_.

Wanda strained her ears to listen for the sound.

 _Crunch_.

Was it possible that help was already here? It must be because Wanda knew that someone must be coming. It wasn't until a few minutes later that she saw it. Something was coming towards them. Wanda quickly shook her brother trying to wake him up.

He mumbled something that sounded like, _five more minutes mama._ Wanda stopped trying to wake her brother up, when she saw a brown moving shape coming up, their way. It was a dog. A rescue dog. Where there was a rescue dog, people must be with it. They were saved!

" Help! We're over here! Help! " Wanda called at the dog catching it's attention. Pietro stirred. The dog ran over to them with energy like a puppy. When it got close it maneuvered around the bomb carefully. It stuck it's head under the bed coming face to face with Pietro. Then the dog did something that got Pietro to wake up. It licked him in the face, not stopping when Pietro woke up with a face full of slobber.

Pietro bolted up hitting his head on the bed frame groaning in pain. He wiped at his face not paying attention to anything else. That was until he caught the smell of smoke. Everything came back rushing in full blast.

" Wanda! " Pietro panicked. If he lost her than there was no point in living. He was about to call for her again, when a steadying hand rested on his shoulder. He turned around to see Wanda. She was dirty and a bit shaken up, but was otherwise was fine. She was safe and with him.

" We're saved Piero! This dog is going to bring rescuers and get us out of here. " Wanda explained petting the dog.

Pietro sighed in relief that they were going to be saved. Wanda was going to be happy again and safe. He was going to be with her no matter what. And that was all that mattered to him, from this day forward and for the rest of his life.

Ajdin was overwhelmed by the foreigners, who came rushing in only a few hours after the bombs hit. A few hours after his mama died. A few hours after he caused the death of his mama. Ajdin was about to be overcome by grief again when one of the foreigners approached him. They must be rescuers to save them Ajdin concluded. It was a man who walked over to the grieving 7 year old speaking slowly in a language that Ajdin couldn't understand. So the only reasonable response he could give them was the one sentence he could say in English.

" I do not. " He paused. What was the word again? " Understand. " He said in a heavily accented squeaky voice. Ajdin felt a rush of pride. After hours of practicing with his mama, he finally got it. She would be proud. The pride was overcome by guilt. She would be if she wasn't gone. She's gone because of me, Ajdin thought sadly. Tears were coming again.

Another foreigner appeared behind Ajdin. She was tall and towering over him, just like everyone else does. Ajdin remembers his father telling him that one day he would grow up to be as tall as him. Which was pretty good since his papa was tall enough to play basketball with 7th graders when he was 12. Ajdin believed him because papa was a doctor and was almost never wrong.

The woman saw his tears, looking back at his father who was holding his dead wife. She said something to him, Ajdin still not understanding their words. She wrapped her arms around him. Her words had a comforting tone to them so he took her embrace with tears now flowing down his cheeks.

" This poor boy has gone through a traumatic experience and his father is not even here to help him. Now that's just shameful right Pete? " The woman said while still hugging the poor boy, who still sobbing in her arms. Pete was talking on a radio before responding.

" It really is but we can't do anything about it. Look we need to get these people outta here so they can get treated for their injuries. All we have to do is find that dog. Now where could he be? " Pete said and he started to whistle for the rescue dog.

It wasn't until when the sun was setting that the rescue team found the dog sitting outside of a collapsed house, barking frantically. Pete was about to just clip a lease on the dog until the dog ran over to the back of the house where the Maximoff twins lay waiting for rescue.

" Guys I think the dog found someone to save the first time. I'm west of the house where the boy and his dad were. Be careful I think a bomb is still there. I see the back of it. " Pete said into the radio while he walked towards the direction where the dog went.

Pietro watched the dog as it came back from barking it's head off. Wanda had nicknamed the dog Tip because of the strange marking in it's fur that looked like a toothpick. When Tip returned Pietro could hear something getting closer to them.

" Here! We're over here! Help us! " The twins cried out hoping whoever was coming could hear them. A man appeared on top of the rubble. He had a radio in one hand and the other he was holding a flashlight. He yelled something in a different language. By his accent the man was probably speaking English. A few minutes passed before a helicopter was flying above them, it seemed like a net with a mattress at the bottom of it. And it only fit one.

The twins watched as more Americans came along to help rescue them. Pietro and Wanda brace themselves as the rescuers moved brick after brick careful not to disturb the bomb. Pietro's heart raced as the man that Tip lead to them get closer to them.

He said something softly and in a slow voice motioning for Pietro to crawl from under the bed. Pietro shook his head in defiance inching closer to Wanda. The man repeated himself getting closer to Pietro and Wanda.

Pietro panicked so he pushed Wanda out from underthe bed then he crawled out from under the bed. Avoiding the man's hand reaching to stop them.

" What's going on Pietro? " Wanda cried out when she was pushed out from under the bed before grabbing her brother's hand. Pietro pointed to the rescuers a dark look crossed his face. He didn't need to say anything to her, their connection was strong enough that sometimes they didn't need to say things out loud.

 _" He's trying to separate us. We need to go. "_ Was what Pietro silently said. Wanda nodded before jumping off the ledge they were on, landing on the demolished house's base.

Pietro was about to grab his sister and run when he spotted something under his shoe. It was sticky and... dark red. Blood. It was blood that Pietro just landed on. He knew that no animal could produce this kind of blood.

 _No. I refuse to believe it. No_. Pietro thought denying the fact that only he, Wanda and his parents were in the building when the bomb hit them. A memory of his parents falling through a hole that a second bomb created. He remembered grabbing Wanda saving her for any dangerous harm. He never saw papa or mama after the explosions.

While Pietro stood frozen in fear when his foot landed in blood, Wanda walked slowly towards the source of the blood like her legs couldn't stop themselves. She began to slowly remove rubble and any kind of debris in her way. She didn't even notice her brother join her, helping her uncover the sickening truth.

Pete watched silently as the kids kept digging into the rubble. Pete didn't know why but he couldn't go down there. These kids wanted, no they needed, to see the bodies that were producing all the blood down there. He raised a hand to rescuers who came rushing towards the ledge ready to give chase. One of the men gave him a look of confusion.

" What's happening he- " The man never got to finish as he heard a wail of pain carry itself towards all of their ears.

Pete looked down at the kids as he saw the boy punch a pipe so hard that it split open cutting his hand. But the boy barely noticed the cut before sitting down next to his sister who was crying saying something to him in their language. The girl saw the cut before ripping part of her sleeve off gently putting her brothers hand under a pipe producing clean water. She then wrapped the cloth around his hand in such a loving way it was heartbreaking. Pete could tell she was scolding the boy. Pete felt sorry for the kids, here they were their whole lives ruined by an accident made by Tony Stark.

Pete looked back the sun shading his eyes. The sun was dipping into the ground almost disappearing. They really needed to hurry that's for sure, but he'll give the kids some more time.

Ajdin didn't say anything to his father while they sat beside each other in the infirmary. Whenever Ajdin tried to start a conversation his papa would only say, " Quiet Ajdin, please. " It made the 7 year old want to cry, but whenever his lip began to quiver he would just close his eyes and shove the feeling away. Even though Ajdin was only 7 years old he got the gist that nothing was going to be the same ever again.

(2 years later in Sokovia/Present time)

It was two years since his mama died and his father changed dramatically. Ajdin started to call his papa 'father' since two years ago. Papa seemed like a forbidden word that could never be used by Ajdin ever again. It was a silent agreement that the both of them had. It was ever since the funeral that Ajdin started calling his papa 'father'.

 _7 year old Ajdin watched his papa silently at the funeral. He sat beside he papa with a suit on, fidgeting ever once and a while. His papa barely talked to him anymore, only talking to him about when they were going to leave for the funeral, or to get his suit on. Whenever Ajdin looked away he could feel his papa's eyes on him. Ajdin's father never said it out loud but the way his eyes darkened when he looked at his son, was an obvious sign that he blamed his son for his wife's death._

 _" Sorry pa- father. " Ajdin said in a shaky voice 2_ _years_ _ago_

Being _9_ years old did have its advantages and disadvantages _._ One of disadvantages was that a strange man, who was huge and looked inhuman, started to appear wherever Ajdin went. Normally anyone would say that the man was stalking him, but Ajdin didn't say anything. There didn't seem to be much of a point. It's not like his father would do anything to help. Sometimes the strange man was accompanied by a small woman and they would avert their gazes whenever he looked at them, but he knew that they were always watching him.

One of the advantages was that he could read better, and was smarter than before. Ajdin started to read any of the books that his father used to bring home. They were some about several diseases or injuries and how to diagnose them and how to treat them. Some were about the human body skeletal, or the muscles and how they worked or the organs. Ajdin started to come to the hospital that his father worked at, the boy started to have conversations with his father's coworkers. Discussing anything medically related and what else was happening in the world.

Like how Iron Man was born through a kidnapping. Hmm that's pretty interesting.

Now Ajdin was at home reading one of his father's book about the brain. Just enjoying his practically solitary life with his father. Yeah like anything could get better. Sometimes he would see the Maximoff twins heading towards the ruins of their house. He didn't know why they went there but he didn't know what to say to them. So Ajdin simply read until it was time to go to bed.

 _Their hands were inching towards him in a horrifying rate. They kept coming towards him no matter how much he runs away. Blood started to seep from under his shoe, squishing as he ran as fast as he could._

 _" Pietro, mama and papa... They're- no it - WHY?! " The voices echoed against an invisible wall. Pietro didn't know what to do, but he must find Wanda._

 _" Wanda! Answer me sister. Where are you? Wanda! " Pietro's voice echoed as he continued to run away from the hands._

Wanda watched her brother sleep as she listened to the sounds of the animals at night. He had nightmares and she knew it. Whenever she saw him bolt up in the middle of the night she knew it was a nightmare. Yet he wouldn't tell her about it at all. Of course Wanda wasn't as truthful as she claimed to be. They were 12 years old and yet sometimes she still felt like a small child afraid of the dark whenever they were in the, somewhat, dusty room.

She had dreams of many things. The dreams weren't nightmares though. They were often confusing at times. Scratch that, they were always confusing. She would see pulses of red in a dark void. Sometimes she would be on an empty street where she would be standing, a streak would go by her. The streak would be blue and silver, sometimes whenever it ran past her, blood splattered the streets before the streak itself disappeared suddenly. A howl that contained so much pain and sorrow would split through the air after the streak disappeared. At times in the dreams the scene changed to a cell, people were everywhere around her but their faces were blurry, unreadable. Then a flash of blue would appear and then Wanda would wake up then.

Wanda was brought out of her thoughts when Pietro turned fitfully in his sleep, a grimace was on his face. His eyes moved frantically under his eyelids. She brought her hand to his face stroking his cheek, hoping that he would calm down. Pietro would turn in his sleep a lot, it was like even in sleep he couldn't stay still. But Wanda knew the differences between a good sleep and a bad one. This sleep now was a bad one.

The two years since their parents died have been hard. One lf their problems were getting away from the child protection services, who were going to take them and split them apart. The minute Pietro heard that he demanded that they be put somewhere where they couldn't get separated. So instead, after awhile, they went to an orphanage where they even shared a bed together since the orphanage wasn't the best one.

Pietro let out a sigh before settling down on his side facing Wanda. He was finally truly asleep, Wanda let out a breathe of relief before cuddling up close to her brother getting ready to sleep herself. She let sleep take over, waiting for strange dreams to appear to her.

Yeah the years will be hard, but they will pull through no matter what. Who knew what the future held for them.


	3. Being sick sucks

Pietro would sometimes look at the stars when he woke up from a nightmare. He only looked at them when Wanda was still asleep, curled up into his side. Stars were a wonder, that was for sure. They were always there in the night sky, they were invincible. Nothing could touch them or even hurt them. They were beautiful and Pietro remembered when his papa told him and Wanda stories about stars.

Pietro realized that he was wrong about one thing. Stars weren't invincible, they didn't live forever, eventually a star would run out of time and it will die. His papa told him something at one point, not exactly a long time ago, that it seemed meaningless before but now Pietro understood.

 _Son, when a star dies we wouldn't even know that it happened until years later. Eventually it will fade from our sky and disappear. That's what will happen to me and your mama, and it will be a hard time for you and your sister but that's why you're brother and sister. So you can both support each other when bad times come. So don't take anyone you love for granted because eventually they'll fade away like stars._

Pietro never knew that someone like Tony Stark would make his parents die, way before they were ready. Changing his and Wanda's lives forever all because of some 'accident'. It made him so angry and it angered him even more for the fact that he couldn't do anything about it. Yet. Pietro closed his eyes willing for sleep to take over him, they did after all have school tomorrow. Unfortunately.

Wanda was the first one to wake up, well after one of the workers came in and woke them up. Wanda wasn't exactly enthusiastic about going to school, but she had a better attitude towards it than her brother. He wasn't even bothering to wake up to go to school. Wanda started thinking of pushing him off since he has done that to her many times before.

So without much effort, her brother was surprisingly light, she pushed him off the bed. Pietro groaned before opening his eyes, complaining about how easy it would've been to get him to wake up without so rudely pushing him off the bed.

" Come on brother, it's about time to go to school. " Wanda said dropping Pietro's backpack beside him.

" I think you broke my back, I can't go to school with a broken back. Just leave me here to slowly heal. It might take the whole school year. " Pietro said covering his eyes with his arms.

" Get up drama queen. " Wanda said throwing clothes at her brother. He huffed before getting.

" Fine. "

After school the people who worked at the orphanage let the children go to the park if they wanted, if they didn't stray away. So that's how Pietro and Wanda ended up under the shade of a tree, studying for a science test.

" Define heliocentric. " Wanda was holding flash cards making sure that her brother didn't get to see it.

Pietro scratched his chin while tossing a ball up into the air. He was racking his brain for an answer when a young voice answered, " It's the theory that all of the planets go around the sun. " Ajdin was above them sitting on a low, thick tree branch.

" That's right isn't it? " Ajdin asked nervously jumping down from the branch. He landed next to Pietro, standing up quickly then started to fidget.

Pietro stopped tossing the ball and lifted his eyebrow, " What were you doing up there? "

Ajdin sighed answering honestly, " I really don't have many friends. Also I didn't really have that much to do so I came to the park and climbed this tree and heard you guys studying.I'll just, go now. " Ajdin turned around to leave only for Pietro to stop him. With aloud, _Wait_.

"Come on you can, uh, I guess study with us. Wait just a second how did you know that?" Pietro asked while Ajdin went and climbed back onto a lower branch. Ajdin shrugged thinking about it.

" I look stuff up a lot. My house has a bunch of books in it, so when I have the time I read. I'm not a genius or anything. " He said laying down the tree branch, a thoughtful look crossed his face.

6th grade went on like that, through the whole year. They would meet at the park and study and to have a good time with each other. Although they had a three years difference in age, they practically treated each other the same at times.

" So what would you say x-3=11 is? " Wanda said all of them were at the park, sheets with math problems were in a pile next to them. Pietro answered before Ajdin had a chance to say anything.

" It would be 14, right? " Pietro had a smirk on his face before snatching a tiny piece of candy from his sister's bag. Wanda took the bag moving it so Pietro wouldn't be able to reach it so easily.

" Stop eating so much, before the candy is all gone. Plus you don't want to be chubby. The girls at our school don't like kids who eat like you do. " Wanda chastised her brother while putting a check next to the math question.

Pietro largely disagreed saying that he didn't even eat that much. He earned a snort from Wanda.

Ajdin felt a lot more happy since he started hanging out with Wanda and Pietro. At home there was always a tension between him and his father. At school talking to people that were his age more of a challenge.

Many things changed over the years though. There was always the strange people who watched him, the man and the woman. The woman, Ajdin assumed was the man's girlfriend or something. _Great_ _my_ _stalker_ _has_ _a_ _girlfriend_ , Ajdin thought sarcastically when he was walking home from school one day.

His was always slightly nervous whenever he was alone, out in the streets or anywhere else in general. So he didn't expect the hand grabbing his arm as he passed a abandoned store.

Wanda and Pietro turned 15 years old weeks ago. Adjin on the other hand turned twelve not so long ago. Wanda continued school with a good effort, Pietro was doing fine as well but obvisiouly didn't have the motivation to care. He did small jobs for money, often using them to buy gifts for his sister or anything else that interested him. Pietro, since he has turned 15, gained a scruffy appearance. He didn't bother to learn how to shave himself properly, or to shave at all, period. Sooner or later, Wanda noticed, he would soon have a thin beard on his jaw. She didn't like the idea of her brother a beard at his age. It just didn't seem to fit him, yet. Another benefit was that they finally got their own room. Sooner or later they would get their own beds. Which meant no getting kicked by Pietro in the middle of the night by accident because he moved so much.

It was the end of the weekend and when Wanda woke up in the middle of the night, she could feel something akin to being so hot. It was like a phantom pain though, she could feel it but she knew it wasn't there. Pietro was sleeping beside her as usual, his was back turned to her. She noticed the heat radiating off of him. Wanda sat up in the bed, she turned Pietro so his face was facing the ceiling.

Surprisingly he didn't wake up at the movement. Wanda sat still listening to his breathing. His breathing was laboured and he had a sheen of sweat glistening on his forehead. Wanda didn't know what to do, or what her brother was sick with. All she knew was that her brother was sick and she really couldn't do anything to truly help him. She felt so helplessness filled her. Asking the workers at the orphanage wouldn't work. Realization hit Wanda suddenly.

Ajdin could help, he once or twice mentioned how his father was a doctor. Ajdin sometimes told them about how he read all of the medical books in his house or goes to the library to read and how he sometimes goes to the hospital his father works at to talk to the other doctors.

 _" I could become a mini doctor right now. " Ajdin once said with a grin._

All Wanda had to do was to take care of her brother until the end of the night and the end of the school day. She found a rag and dipped it in cool water before later putting it on Pietro's forehead. She whispered comforts to her brother when he twisted in his sleep due to the fever. The only time he was conscious was when he threw up yellowish liquid.

She knew what route Ajdin took to go home. His father didn't pick him up since he was too busy, it probably wasn't the whole reason but it wasn't her business to say anything.

She heard footsteps coming closer, quickly reaching out to grab the Ajdin's arm she dragged him into the abandoned store she was hiding in. Wanda thought she heard Ajdin say a curse when she grabbed him, but the only thing on her mind was Pietro.

" I need your help, Ajdin. Pietro's sick and I don't think its the flu. " Wanda said urgently grabbing Ajdin's shoulders. He nodded in understanding.

" Where is he? "

Wanda waited for Ajdin while he got a few supplies from his house. After awhile Ajdin arrived, looking extremely nervous. When he was done listening to Pietro's chest with a stethoscope he concluded that Pietro had pneumonia. Wanda immediately was concerned remembering how dangerous pneumonia could get.

Ajdin reassured her saying that it wasn't exactly life threatening and that if she took care of Pietro properly, he would be fine in a week or so. It pained Wanda to see her brother so weak and sick, but she knew that he would be getting better every day.

A week and two days later, Pietro finally got from throwing up and saying inane sentences to being confused of where he was and what happened. He was still weak but he wasn't throwing up phlegm or had a fever of 101.2, thankfully. Of course she hoped that the school work that she would be receiving wouldn't be too stressful. Wait until Pietro got his schoolwork. Wanda heard that a test was coming up fast, and it was a big one. The thought made her laugh, which had caused more confusion for Pietro.

" Wait until we get back to school, dear brother. We've been absent for nine days. I heard there's a test coming up. We better get studying. " Pietro groaned. " That's what I thought, but we have to deal with it. " Wanda informed getting her textbooks out.

 _This is going to be a long night_ , Pietro thought as his sister began talking about DNA and cells. He was happy though to be cognizant and not throwing up his guts. Well not his guts, phlegm, not like it improved anything.

Wanda stopped reading out loud when she noticed the soft snores filling the air. Her brother was passed out in the bed, his chest was rising up and down steadily. She didn't know what the reason was that made fall to sleep. It was either the studying or the exhaustion of having pneumonia, probably both. Wanda reached out her hand to stroke his smooth face. She had shaved the thin beard one night when he was practically comatose, he wasn't exactly moving around but pneumonia sapped his strength. She learned how to do it from Ajdin, who was a little weirded out when she asked. She got in bed, snuggling close to Pietro, letting the memory come.

 _"_ _Wait what? " Ajdin asked with furrowed brows. He looked at Wanda in confusion as she unconsciously stroked her brother's jaw. He didn't seem to understand why she was asking this. " Why do you need to know how to shave? I hope you're not growing a beard. Or planning on it. I'm pretty sure you're not. Right? Cause did you know that's not actually physically impossible. Did you know that there's something called- "_

 _" No it's not for me. It's for Pietro, he not planning on learning how to shave anytime soon. He already has a beard and I don't think he's ready for something like that. So I want to shave him while I have the chance. Please. " Wanda responded earning a even more weirded out look from Ajdin._

 _" But why would you do that while he's unconscious. That's a little weird- "_

 _" Ajdin! "_

 _" Fine I'll show you how. Just let me get my father's things so you can use it. Girls. "_

 _" What was that you said Ajdin? "_

 _" Nothing. "_

It also reminded her to thank Ajdin for helping them. Wanda fell asleep with a content smile when Pietro shifted in his sleep. She couldn't find him anywhere the next day. She called his house waited for him to walk on the route to his home. She didn't understand why she couldn't find him anywhere. So one day she went and asked one of Ajdin's neighbors if they knew where he went. It was a husband and wife that she asked. They were sitting on a bench talking to each other.

They looked at her with pity. She was confused even more when the lady told her to sit down next to her.

She heard the lady whisper to her husband, " She was one of his friends. It's sad how she doesn't know. "

" Can you please tell me what I missed. " Wands said in slight frustration. What did they know that she didn't.

The lady gave her a look of pity before saying something that shook Wanda's world.

" Ajdin killed his father and is now a fugitive to the law. He's gone. "


	4. Cocktails are sometimes good

" Ajdin killed his father and is now a fugitive to the law. He's gone. "

The words were so unbelievable that Wanda had to ask the lady to repeat her words, because it was just so inexplicably impossible. How was it possible for police officers to believe such a theory like that. All of them had excuses like how Ajdin's fingerprints and DNA was all over his dad's body. There was no other reasonable explanation to how Ajdin's father lay dead on the ground with a bloody scalpel laying next to him. That day went on in a slow painful way.

Wanda and Pietro went to Ajdin's father's funeral laying a single flower on his grave. Most of the people who attended his funeral were doctors and nurses. Others were some distant relatives who heard the words of his horrific death.

Gossip and rumors was everywhere about why Ajdin his father. Some said because his father neglected him and didn't show him enough love. Others said Ajdin was an undiagnosed psychopath. Others thought that Ajdin had some sort of dangerous mental disorder. Wanda hated all of them, every single rumor or piece of gossip darkened her mood. There was one rumor that she hated the most though. The rumor that Ajdin was dead.

People everywhere said that Ajdin couldn't of survive by himself. Not with all of the criminal activity out there and the recent storms. The police officers couldn't seem to track or even have an idea to where Ajdin went to. Where he disappeared to. Eventually Wand and Pietro got over it never speaking of Ajdin again, not wanting to bring up bad memories. Ajdin just became a distant memory that none of them wanted to relive.

" I just thought of a very brilliant idea, dear sister. " Pietro said to Wanda when he was done chewing on his hamburger that he was eating in a very slow manner. They were at a fast food restaurant eating lunch together. School was out and many opportunities lay ahead.

" Yeah and what's that? " Wanda was eating a salad, stabbing at the food. The fast food restaurant that were eating at wasn't anywhere special. It had blue and green walls speckled with grey from age. Many other people where eating around them, it was the afternoon and evening was far away. The sun gently warmed the twins faces as they sat and ate.

" Bartending is what I think can do. It doesn't pay much but it would still work. It's not going to be permanent though. Now that would be stupid. " Pietro informed her, putting down his hamburger wiping at the edges of his mouth. Wanda let the thought repeat in her head, imagining her brother serving others basically alcohol. It wasn't a happy thought.

Wanda shook her head side to side adamantly in disagreement. Why? The job didn't seem; well stable or even benefitcial.

" Why don't you agree with me? It's not going to be permanent. I promise, Wanda. " Pietro looked straight at his sister with a slightly teasing tone. Silence.

" What about your age? "

" They don't care. "

" There're always fights at the bar, I don't want you to get caught in one or start it. " Wanda said remembering that her brother can be rather hot headed. Or in other words short tempered, not willing to wait for a solution. At times her brother would come to the orphanage with bruises from fights.

Pietro sighed thinking of an answer to convince Wanda. Which wasn't always easy. Their birthdays were coming up and he wanted to get her a present that he had an eye on for awhile.

" I won't do any of that. No fights, nothing. Though I might come back with a few girls if you know what I mean, eh? " He earned a punch in the arm for that.

When Pietro got the job he didn't know how interesting it was going to be. It was kinda fun. He learned how to make pretty intoxicating cocktails and many different beers. He learned how to clean throw up and blood without much of a hassle at all. People did throw up a lot there, they also bled a lot. He met a lot of people who lived around the orphanage, they had a lot of stories to tell Pietro. He also had a uniform of sorts that his employer gave him, whenever he was there he wore dark pants with a matching vest and tie. He had a white long sleeved shirt under the vest. (Wanda often told him that he should wear the suit whenever he went on a date.) His sister would come to the bar take a seat at the bar with a book to keep him company. She never drank anything but water or milk. Pietro never would've given her any kind of intoxicated drink anyways.

(Unknown location)

Ajdin felt very strange. His mind was sluggish and his body felt slightly numb. His breath was hot and heavy. He couldn't see anything, a sack was put on his head the minute he got kidnapped. His arms were restrained behind his back. The metal surface he was laying on kept shifting, like he was on a boat. The clothes he was wearing wasn't helping to keep much warmth in his body. He was currently wearing a plain t-shirt and jeans with tennis shoes. He did have a hoodie but it was taken away.

Ajdin could sometimes hear clanks of metal, humming, footsteps, and conversations too far away for him to understand. He couldn't really, exactly, remember what happened as he was kidnapped. He tried to remember as much as he could. He only got flashes of what happened.

 _Ajdin was somewhat bored as he walked home from school. He had a test that day and it wasn't a hard one. There was no homework for him to take home. Which was slightly disappointing since it did provide him with something to do. Ever since Pietro got sick he's barely had anyone to talk to. Something crashed onto the street as the impossibly huge man who watched him for three years started coming after him. Oh no!_

This was when things started to get messed up. All Ajdin could remember was that he did get to his house but was captured anyways. Somehow. He woke later on to feel a needle in his neck, injecting some sort of toxin. He's been like this ever since.

Ajdin must've fell asleep because the next moment he was being picked up and put on someone's thick shoulder. A few minutes passed of bouncing up and down on his captured shoulder. A squeak and suddenly he's forced to sit on a chairs, the sack removed roughly. Ajdin imagined that his hair was probably messed up, his hair was usually neat ,but not completely flat, with a perfect part on the far left side of his head.

The room was dark, one light was overhead, with a window on one wall. Ajdin felt like he was in an interrogation room from tv shows. What surprised him most was that the impossibly big man wasn't a man at all. He was an alien, blue and tall with bulging muscles he looked even more imitating than before.

The blue alien laughed at Ajdin's surprised expression. Before being accompanied with the women that was with him sometimes when they watched him over the three years, she looked normal but Ajdin assumed that she wasn't human.

" Aww look at the poor scared little Terran. Gonna pee your pants 75G21? " The blue alien mocked him pretending to shed a tear.

" My name is not 75G21. " Ajdin mustered up the courage to spat out the sentence. He wasn't terrified but was he racing heart said otherwise.

" It will be your only name. " What the blue alien said confused Ajdin even more. It wasn't like he was just going to forget his name.

The women rolled her eyes while playing with a gun that Ajdin had never seen before. The gun was slender and had shifting parts on it as the women tugged at the trigger mockingly. She spoke with a surprisingly slightly squeaky voice.

" My name is Ornon and this is Steg. " She motioned between herself and the blue alien. Ajdin only glared at them to scared to say anything out loud.

A door opened to reveal a man. He was stout and held an air of calmness. The thing that Ajdin noticed about him was that he had four arms. Ajdin didn't at all understand what was happening. For some strange reason the man had a name tag on him that read _Maru._ Maru looked like a normal human if you just ignored the two extra arms.

" Welcome to my ship subject 75G21, I hope Mr. Steg here did treat you well. No? Ah well no ones perfect. " Maru said getting obviously too close to Ajdin's face. He reached down towards Ajdin's pants causing Ajdin's heart race even more. Ajdin squeezed his eyes shut waiting for the worse. It turned out that Maru had only taken the end of Ajdin's shirt and had lifted it, bringing the cloth to Ajdin's nose.

" Don't you smell it, boy? " Ajdin crinkled his nose as Maru brought the cloth closer. The end of the shirt seemed to have a dark spot on it but Ajdin couldn't see it.

" It's blood. " Ajdin's froze. " It's your fathers blood. You know why it's on your shirt. " No Maru was lying. " Because you killed- "

" Liar! " Ajdin shouted out in anger before Maru could finish. Sure Ajdin didn't have the greatest relationship with his father. They barely talked to each other over the three years, but that didn't mean to he would kill his father.

 _Smack!_

The doctor, Maru, had slapped him right across the face. Maru looked angry, no impatient and furious at Ajdin's interruption. Surprisingly it didn't feel like an unfamiliar action done to him before. What? Maru looked at Ajdin's face waiting for his reaction.

" Let's play a game, 75G21. I tell you the truth and you say that you believe me and I will be done slapping you. Do you agree? " Maru put a hand on Ajdin's face talking to him like he was 9 again.

" You killed your- "

" Liar! "

 _Smack!_

" Let me repeat myself. You killed- "

" I will never believe you! "

 _Smack!_

Steg watched as Maru kept trying to tell Ajdin that he killed his father. He looked down at Ornon who watched in mild interest. Maru then slapped Ajdin again after he interrupted him again _._ Steg didn't understand why Dr. Maru was doing this.

He looked down at Ornon, the Xandarion. He asked her, " Why is he doing this to the subject. It's not like the subject is believing the doctor, obviously. "

" The doctor wants to set doubt into the subjects mind. The subject may be adamant about the doctor lying but he will have the idea stuck in his head. He is having memory problems right now because of us. " Ornon answered playing around with her favorite gun. This subject was going to be interesting. She and Steg watched silently as Maru and Ajdin kept doing the same process over again for almost two hours. Maru slapping Ajdin for not believing him.

Maru finally signaled Steg over to him and Ajdin. He ordered Steg to pick up Ajdin and put him in his cell. Maru smirked as Steg practically threw the subject into his new cell.

" Welcome to your new home 75G21. We're going to start testing on you tomorrow. Here. " Maru threw white scrubs and socks at Ajdin. " I'll come back to get your other clothes from you later on. Have a good sleep. "

The minute Maru left Ajdin let a tear fall down his cheek in despair. He was slapped many times and it stung pretty badly. To make that worse he was going to go through tests. He saw horrendous looking equipment in many rooms as he was escorted to his cell. There were many blades on tables with many more things that obviously wasn't from Earth.

Ajdin slid off his clothes putting the white scrubs on; with the socks. He folded his other clothes waiting for Maru to come back for them. Ajdin crawled into a corner falling to sleep sobbing quietly.

The first few days weren't as bad Ajdin thought they were going to be. No one was going to cut him open, which was very good for Ajdin. But the first few days were still bad. The first day he stood in a room that had a one way mirror in front of him. They were scanning him somehow, not like he cared how though. The first day, admittedly wasn't very eventful. The second was a little more traumatic to Ajdin. Two big grey skinned aliens came into his cell bringing him to another room. Nothing seemed out of place, except the two big pipes above him. Then the two told him to strip down to nothing, no underwear nothing. Next thing he knew the pipes were spraying some sort of orange liquid at him. The pipes sprayed him with such a force Ajdin almost fell over at first. Thankfully scientist came in nervously after the pipes were down to give him back his clothes.

The third day was strange. When the bodyguards came they dragged him to yet another room, but they didn't say or do anything to him. Scientists came in with tablets looking at Ajdin with squinting eyes. Ajdin got a glance at one of the scientist's tablets. It had many DNA readings on it with words scrolling down the side. Nothing really happened to Ajdin, the scientist sometimes told him to move in a certain way like to lift his leg or clench his hand. Strange day for sure.


	5. Never trust strangers

This chapter contains descriptions of surgery. It's not bad but still. I also don't have very good medical knowledge. And rape.

* * *

The fifth day was when they started the experiments. Ajdin fought against the guards grips but they shoved him onto the operating table and held him down. Ajdin could see of the equipment they were gong to use on him. Blades and many cybernetics lay on smaller tables. Then Maru came in, he had gloves on with a scaple in his Shand. They took off Ajdin's shirt much to his dismay.

" What're you going to do me? " Ajdin demanded his voice sounded much stronger than he felt. One of the guards handed Maru two poles and then another one handed him a long piece of metal. The piece of metal had a dull gleam to it. The piece of metal was flat and on the edge of it had many tiny moving wires with tiny blades on the ends of them. It also had some blinking lights on it, the tiny blades were extending themselves and wiggling all over the place. The piece of metal also seemed flexible and was at least an inch wide.

" We are going to open you up 75G21. This cybernetic piece will attach itself to your spine, enhancing durability and probably chances of survival in the worst of conditions. It'll make you stronger and... Well you can find out what this will do to you later. Let's begin. " Maru ordered the guards to hold Ajdin down as he attached a pole to the long cybernetic piece. Then Maru got the scaple hovering the blade over the middle of Ajdin's bare back, he pressed down drawing blood. Ajdin writhed under the guards hold until one of them knocked him out. More doctors came in to assist Maru but he stopped them.

Once Maru made an inch long bleeding slit vertically in Ajdin's back he got the cybernetic piece and attached the pole to the end of it. He put the piece into the slit, blood was still splurging out of it, he used the pole to push it far enough to get close enough to the spine. He kept pushing it further down until the pole was too close to end of the bleeding slit. He removed the pole then got the other one, which was cleaner. He put the second one onto the end of the cybernetic implant and pushed it further along Ajdin's spine. Maru got a scaple and went a several inches below the slit that he made earlier he then made a shorter vertical slit, it was about a half an inch long. He saw the cybernetic piece that he managed to push down onto Ajdin's spine. Then he got the pole and attached it to the piece pushing it down further until he knew that the cybernetic piece basically covered most of Ajdin's spine.

" Do we use stitches now, sir? " One of the doctors asked Maru as he finished. He shook his head looking at his work. He went over to a table and got two small flat cybernetic pieces.

" No we will use these to replace the skin I removed. It'll be a little tight at first but he'll get used to it. It took longer than I thought it would to put the piece into him but he is taller than 64F20 was. " Maru later modified the small cybernetic pieces so they see the same sizes as the slits he created in Ajdin's back.

When Ajdin woke up his back was killing him. He couldn't move without feeling a sharp pain go down his back. He didn't have any mirrors in his cell but he craned his neck far enough to see the flash of the dull cybernetic pieces in his back. The skin around the pieces were tight and red, Ajdin felt like crying or to scream but he did neither. No one here cared about him so there was no reason to even bother. Nobody dragged him out of his cell for a few weeks probably waiting for him to recover so they could do more experiments to him.

The experiments went on for months. Ajdin tried to count of how he had been there, captured and experimented on. He guessed it was about a year so far. All of the experiments were painful and hard to get used to every time. And whenever Ajdin woke up in his cell to discover more cybernetic pieces in him the less human he felt. The experiements almost broke him. Almost. He wasn't going to give up so easily.

One day when Ajdin was asleep Steg came into his cell with a syringe. Steg injected Ajdin with the same serum that made him forget what happened when Steg had kidnapped him.

" When you wake up you'll have even more problems with your memories. " Steg whispered to Ajdin but it was mostly to himself.

When Ajdin woke up his head felt fuzzy like it was before but he couldn't remember when he felt like this before. He almost forgot that his real name wasn't 75G21. It was hard to remember things from his past. Even the crew on the ship noticed the changes in Ajdin's behavior. They noticed that he was quieter and more obedient but the difference was that they knew why he was changing. Ajdin was slowly forgetting who he was.

Once Maru was done implanting cybernetics into Ajdin he decided that they would finally inject him with the same thing they injected 64F20 with. But this time the experimenting weren't going to waste because Maru was sure that 75G21 was the one that was going to succeed. What they'd were going to inject Ajdin with were nanites, the other subject's bodies didn't make it because the nanites rejected their bodies and had killed them from the insides.

Maru felt somewhat accomplished because it was almost the end of the second year of 75G21 being captured and being experimented on. Now 75G21 didn't even remember who he was before Steg had kidnapped him, it would make training 75G21 into the perfect weapon more easy. Maru did know that once he injected 75G21 with the nanites 75G21 would stop physically aging and Maru could live with that. Looking like a 12 year old forever will give 75G21 an advantage over his enemies. Who would expect a 12 year old to attack you?

(Sokovia)

Wanda paced back and forth in their bedroom. Pietro was in the bathroom throwing up almost all of his lunch and dinner. He still had the job as a bartender after two years had passed. They were eighteen now and had their own apartment. Wanda snuck a glance to the window she saw smoke and a small riot occurring. She grimaced at the site of the strange men that had come into their country with weapons pushing Sokovians away, threatening Sokovians. It was madness because these strange men came into Sokovia making it a place where nobody felt safe in their homes, afraid that the strange men might come into their homes and taking them away. Pietro and Wanda herself have been in riots as well because they did feel a strong hatred for the strange men.

Wanda turned her attention to the bathroom were Pietro was still throwing up in. She remembered when Pietro had returned home looking very sick. She demanded where he went but he said that he couldn't rememberer what happened. The last thing he remembered was that he was almost done giving people the drinks they wanted at the bar. After that things went fuzzy and the next thing he knew was that he woke up in an alley. He promised that he never drank anything and Wanda believed him because she was there at the bar waiting for her brother's shift to be over.

Wanda was reading a book sitting at a table waiting for her brother to be done working. She looked at what he was doing every so often, making sure he wasn't about to get himself into any trouble. She saw a girl who seemed older approach Pietro with a seductive look on her face. But for once Pietro was completely oblivious to a girls beauty and had simply asked her what she wanted. Wanda didn't like her one bit but decided to stay away letting her brother handle this girl.

The next time Wanda checked on her brother her heart skipped a beat when she saw another bartender in his place. He left without her and Wanda knew that would never happen. Something was wrong and so she hurried over to the other bartender asking him if he knew where her brother went.

" I don't know where he went but that girl did took him somewhere. She forgot her water bottle though. " The bartender had informed Wanda making her heart race even more. She went back to the apartment and waited for her brother to return. It wasn't until a few hours did her brother returned.

The minute her brother opened the door Wanda ran and threw herself into Pietro, hugging him fiercely. He seemed to not be fully aware of what was happening and his appearance was rumpled. His vest was unbuttoned and his tie was in his hand while his hair was messy. He almost fell over when Wanda threw herself onto him.

When Wanda smelled his breath she asked him, " What happened to you? I was so worried. " She bit her lip as she waited for Pietro to answer. He was swaying on his feet and Wanda steadied him before guiding him over to the couch.

He blinked slowly with unfocused eyes. His tongue felt numb and the room was coming in and out of focus. He answered, " I don't- I don't rememberer. I'm sorry Wanda. " His voice was slurring and he focused on the cut that was above her brow. He remembered that he was there when it happened and he couldn't protect her from the glass cutting her in the riot that he dragged her in. Guilt washed over Pietro making him even more nauseous than he was before.

Wanda urged him to continue to tell her what happened. She knew what happened to him but wished that it wasn't.

" That girl she ordered water so I gave her a glass of, um, water. She offered me the water she ordered. She- she said I looked thirsty so I drank some of it. After that I don't.. know what happened. " Pietro said before rushing up into the bathroom and throwing up.

Weeks had passed since the incident and Wanda never let Pietro out of her sight whenever he went to the bar to work. She kept an eye out for the girl that had drugged her brother, who didn't even remember throwing up in the bathroom for hours. He didn't remember the day that he went missing for hours because a girl had drugged him. Wanda didn't tell him what happened, she just couldn't. It was her turn to protect her brother than the other way around.

Pietro did notice that Wands was watching him constantly, he even asked her but she didn't give him a straight answer.

" Why can't I watch you work, brother? " Was her answer and it confused Pietro even more. Wanda never wondered what happened to the girl.

 **Answer to HPMarvel's question : There will be a sibling relationship between Ajdin and Wanda.**

 **Thank you all for reading this.**


	6. It's kinda starting now

75G21 is Ajdin. He had just forgotten who he is.

* * *

When 75G21 woke up he didn't expect Maru to be hovering above his face. Scientists were in the same room with Maru as well, they were whispering to each other for some reason. 75G21 couldn't remember what happened and why he was in a different room than his cell. The last thing he could remember was going to sleep in his cell after an operation. His body ached as he tried to get up, 75G21 felt numb. He could barely move his limbs.

75G21 remembered a few days ago when Maru had decided to do one of his most cruel experiment to him. Maru took his voice away forever, but he also added a terrible trick to it. 75G21 wasn't a mute but instead Maru somehow switched 75G21's vocal chords with a dog's and a few other adjustments to make it work.

" What is a very obedient Terran animal? " Maru had said with a sadistic sneer, " A dog. "

The very next day 75G21 woke up with a scar on his throat and the inability to communicate with words. He would never be able to speak an actual word ever again. Whenever he tried to say a sentence it only came out as a series of yips and barks and other noises that no one could comprehend. It made him want to lay on the ground and cry and just give up. But the only solution he came up with was to bury his feelings deep down and never look back.

Now he barely made a sound only a rare growl whenever he got angry.

75G21 also learned he attained many canine characteristics. His hearing was sharper than ever, his sense of smell was like a bloodhounds and he could see in the dark. His eyes even glowed in the dark.

" How're you doing subject 75G21? " Maru asked with hidden excitement in his voice. The scientists that were in the room had gotten closer. 75G21 let out a loose growl as a response. Maru chuckled before turning his attention to the scientists in the room.

75G21 didn't bother to listen to what Maru was saying. He instead looked over himself trying to find what changes were done to him. There didn't seem to be any visible changes but 75G21 knew there had to be something different.

" 75G21 training will begin tonight! " Maru announced with a grin on his face.

Then 75G21 was escorted to a room with only a chair and a table in it. 75G21 was instructed to sit in the chair. Maru entered the room pacing back and forth in front of the table. He suddenly slammed all four of his hands on the table.

" 75G21 I want you to try to form a ball in you palm. Imagine a ball being there. " Maru commanded without hesitation.

75G21 opened his right hand and with slight confusion began to imagine a ball in the center of his hand. Hours went by and barely anything happened, it was silent except for Maru constantly demanding for 75G21 to hurry up. Suddenly in the fourth hour a slight tingle came from 75G21's hand and a speck of black appeared on his palm.

Soon the speck was joined by more and there was a flat circle on 75G21's palm. Maru kept getting more and more exited as the circle slowly began turning into a sphere. Almost half a day later there was a metal ball in 75G21's hand. 75G21 was exhausted both mentally and physically while Maru admired the metal ball.

" It seems the nanite injection worked. Finally all my hard work has beginning to pay off. " Maru said holding the metal ball as of it was made out of glass.

More training came after that. 75G21 almost never had a moment of rest when the training started. He at first was being trained to learn how to eventually use his nanites as if by second nature. Than he was being taught combat training at the same time. The training was harsh and cruel but 75G21's tortureres never stopped.

75G21 had injury after injury daily before he actually started to get better in combat. He also got better at creating things with his nanites. Almost a year later he was making many things out of his nanites almost as if by second nature. He was able to create armor on himself and metal gloves around his hands for a combative advantage in battle. One of his favorite things he liked to do was to change his hands into swords.

Months blurred by the days always occupied by harsh training. 75G21 didn't know how much time had actually past but eventually Maru decided it was time for him to fight a true opponent.

75G21 was brought to an arena on an unknown planet. The weather there was dreary and had an orange sun. He didn't know who he was fighting against but that his opponent was a very dangerous one.

Maru was behind him as 75G21 heard a faint sound of a ship landing in the distance. A few minutes later a figure was walking towards them. It was a blue female alien with a tight suit on and had no hair on her head. Her eyes were also black with no pupils. She seemed to have several cybernetic implantments, especially her arm which was completely cybernetic.

She announced herself with a robotic voice, " I've come here to evaluate your weapon that you're offering Maru. I'm a representative for my father Thanos. My name is Nebula. "

" I am most grateful for your arrival Nebula. My weapon is called 75G21 and he is ready for evaluation. " Maru talking as if he was selling a car. He shoved 75G21 to the middle of the arena, closer to Nebula.

" Let's begin. " Nebula said before pulling out two batons.

Maru commanded, " Attack! "

Both opponents rushed at each other. Nebula jumped into the air ready to bring her batons into 75G21's head, but he anticipated it before quickly forming a black shield it's edges glowed blue on his arm. Nebula's batons banged against the shield before 75G21 swung his shield at her head. She ducked before sending a sweeping kick 75G21's legs. He dodged the kick before his right hand formed into a long dangerous sword. The sword was mostly darkly colored with it's edges glowing blue.

75G21 swiped at Nebula, who countered the attack with her batons. 75G21 then sent a powerful punch on Nebula's chest sending her crashing into the ground. The two fought in a flurry of movements each one trying to defeat the other.

75G21 smacked Nebula in the head with the flat side of his sword before sending it down to her head. She shouted, " Stop! " 75G21 froze his sword only a few centimeters away from her face. Nebula slid out from under 75G21 standing up quickly.

" Send him to us in two days. " Nebula said before walking away coldly. 75G21 frowned at her words. He wasn't going to be sold off to someone worse than Maru. He needed to escape somehow.

75G21 paced in his cell thinking of a plan to escape Maru. There were pods on the ship that he could escape in. But how was he going to get to them?

(8 hours later)

75G21 started to type in coordinates blocking out the alarms that were blaring in the background. The pod was soon in orbit flying away from his tormentors ship. 75G21 didn't know what he was going to do but he knew that Terra was going to be a safe enough place for him to hide at.

(Hydra Research Base)

It had been a year since Wanda and Pietro had agreed to join Hydra. Wanda watched bodies with a sheet over it being wheeled out daily. The glowing scepter thing that they were being exposed to everyday strengthened her and Pietro with powers.

Wanda didn't know what her powers were yet but she knew that the scepter thing must be working because she was still alive. Same for her brother Pietro who had survived the experiments with her. All she needed was Pietro to be with her. She was still wary of these strange Hydra agents but she learned to ignore her feelings of doubt. Hydra was going to help her and Pietro to end the war in Sokovia.

Baron Strucker or whatever his full name was, seemed to be in charged of the experiments was missing from the base. Wanda was encouraged by him to keep strong through the experiments. Apparently he got a call about some strange disturbance in an empty field somewhere in Sokovia.

Strucker kept a calm face as he stepped out of the truck. There was some sort of explosion at an empty field behind a farm, Hydra decided to look into it. He at least had fifty men at his disposal with him just in case things got dangerous. The night was pitch black and hardly anyone could see, thankfully they brought goggles with lights installed in them. The truck's lights were turned off just in case.

As his men fanned out Strucker took a look around, not seeing much. It all seemed to be a false alarm until...

A surprised scream cut through the air as one of the agents was tackled by a shadow. Everything grew tense as everyone got ready to shoot. Another scream another man gone.

There was a slicing sound and one of the men fell to the ground with his throat slit. There was a deep growl that set Strucker's heart beating. It took minutes for Strucker to realize all of his fifty men were dead. He and the driver of the truck were left.

" When I say 'now' turn the light on. " Strucker whispered in his comm. Another growl sounded closer to Strucker. Strucker heard a shuffling noise and his eyes widened.

" Now! " Strucker yelled out before a strong large hand grabbed his neck. The lights flared on revealing his attacker.

Strucker found himself face to face with a twelve year old boy that had a sword for a hand. The boy had icey blue eyes with dark circles under them and thick eyebrows with tousled chocolate brown hair. He had a somewhat bulb shaped nose and a lean lethal looking figure, his eyes were guarded and his eyes reminded him of a predator ready to kill. A diagonal scar was on the boy's throat. The boy was wearing jeans and a plain navy blue shirt, the clothes were most likely stolen from the people who lived around the field.

Strucker looked at the sword with glowing blue edges that was pointed between his eyes. A twelve year old boy killed fifty of his highly trained men in a matter of minutes. _Amazing_. They both stayed silent for a few moments.

" I'm sorry for this terrible misunderstanding. We mean you no harm but you must understand why we came armed. We had no idea what we were going to face and might I say I'm extremely surprised to see someone like you here. " Strucker raised his hands in the air in surrender. The boy's eyes watched his movements like a hawk.

" If you like you can call me Strucker. I work for an organization called Hydra that give people like you shelter. A place were you can have a purpose. " Strucker left the offer hang in the air.

The boy was silent and his face showed no emotion. His hand was still wrapped around Strucker's neck. In a matter of seconds the sword disappeared by folding into itself to the boy's wrist. The boy dropped Strucker to the ground like a sack of potatoes.

" Thank you for understanding. You're not making a mistake. Hail Hydra. " Strucker guided the boy into the back of the truck ordering for the bodies to taken away. He just got Hydra a new powerful asset.

Wanda watched as Strucker showed a somewhat vaguely familiar boy into the cell next to Pietro. Wanda was in her cell trying to activate her yet to be unlocked powers.

Pietro on the other hand eyed the new boy with a raised brow.

Weeks passed since 75G21 had arrived at the Hydra base and all he did was curl up in his bed and sleep. It was more like a half sleep to 75G21. His eyes were closed and his breathing was slow but 75G21 listened to the conversations around him. He had nothing else to do at this Hydra base.

" What's your name? " An accented voice asked from the wall of 75G21's cell. The accent was strongly familiar to 75G21 but the voice wasn't.

Pietro talked to Wanda through the wall of his cell all the time but the other person next him never made a sound. So that's why he decided to make conversation. He got bored. Everything around him seemed to go slower since he began to be experimented on. He was sitting on his bed which was pushed against the wall. His ear was pressed against the wall.

Silence was the response to his question. Pietro heard rumors that the boy was a mute. Maybe they were true.

" Tap once if you have a name or tap twice if you don't. " Pietro heard two soft taps. There was a response he didn't expect.

" Would you like one? Tap once for yes or tap twice for no. " Pietro didn't know exactly where he was steering this conversation but his mind was already speeding into the conversation.

One hesitant questioning tap.

" You've been thinking of any names you would like to name youself? Once for yes or twice for no. " Pietro heard two taps.

" Would you like some suggestions? " Pietro thought boredom was really getting to him because all of the sudden he was naming a stranger.

A few moments of silence before a quiet tap. That meant yes.

" Oh ok. Uh, what about Birch? I wanted to name my dog that but we never got a dog. " Pietro offered while scratching his scruffy chin. Hydra didn't give him a chance to shave.

One tap for yes sounded through the wall.

75G21 smiled faintly for the first time since a very long time ago. He liked the name Birch. It was simple but was an actual name not a label. Yes he would now go on as Birch, a new name for a possibly new person. No matter how stupid the name might sound like to others.

Birch looked at the ceiling wondering when something interesting was going to happen.

(Time Skip)

It had been almost three full years since Wanda and Pietro joined Hydra. And it almost two full years since Birch arrived at the Hydra base as well. The twins were at least twenty one years old. The three were the last remaining surviving subjects of Hydra's experiment.

Wanda's new powers were sometimes hard to control but she managed to learn how to do telekinesis. She was given a few blocks to gain further control of her telekinesis. Pietro in the cell next to her was always running in his cell banging into the walls unable to control the sudden bursts of speed. Birch, like always, was curled in a ball sleeping because he long ago already mastered all of his powers.

Wanda had learned how to telepathically communicate with her twin. They often talked to each other then no need to worry about who could be listening. She tried to have a mental conversation with Birch but he never said an actual word, he gave off feelings that could be translated into feedback that both Pietro and Wanda could understand.

She also learned that Birch wasn't a mute. The boy could fully well make a sound if he wanted to but she discovered the horrible truth. She could feel loads of strongly and deeply suppressed emotions in Birch's psyche but she never confronted the problem. It seemed leaving the emotions alone was the best idea.

Baron Wolfgang von Strucker listened to the man's words. Nick Fury released everything to the public apparently. But that didn't matter as long as no one was on this base's scent.

" What about the volunteers? "

He answered smoothly, " The dead will be buried so deep their own ghosts won't be able to find them. "

" And the survivors? " Strucker stopped to marvel at the sight in front of him.

" The twins. " Strucker watched the twins in their respected cells, both of them handling their powers in their own way. Pietro Maximoff was bouncing off the walls, unpredicted bursts of speed yanked him here or there. They needed to reinforce all three of the cells just because of the twin's developing powers. Strucker's eyes moved to Wanda Maximoff who was holding up blocks in the air with dark red power. He looked at the boy last. The boy was halfway curled into a ball using his right arm as a pillow and the other arm to cover his face. The boy barely did anything that had any action in it, giving the boy a docile and weak appearance. But Strucker knew better, he knew what that boy could do. The boy was as dangerous as a viper is to an ordinary man.

" Sooner or later they will meet the twins _and_ the boy. If this is not a world of spies anymore not even a world of heroes, then this is the age of miracles. There's nothing more horrifying... than a miracle. "

" But what about the boy? I thought there were only two surviving volunteers. " The man said behind Strucker.

" Oh we didn't make him. We just found him. "


	7. Meeting and greeting

The Hydra Research Base was in chaos. Birch could hear explosions from outside and the whole base shook. A man was giving out orders saying, " Report to your stations immediately. This is not a drill. We are under attack. " Agents were yelling at each other as they gathered weapons. The man continued to give out orders and alerting everyone.

Birch, Wanda and Pietro were standing in the back of the room watching agents scramble everywhere to prepare for the attack. The three had just received new clothes to wear. Birch had on jeans with sneakers and a grey shirt. He had on a hoodie that was covered in black and red stripes.

Pietro and Wanda were reassuring each other through their mental link. Birch was halfway listening to the twins and half listening to the Hydra agents. Pietro and Wanda grasped each other's hands nervously.

Stucker entered the room. " Who gave the order to attack? " A young man lifted his head to look at him.

" Um sir they are Avengers. " The young man answered bluntly. Another man in combat gear walked up from behind.

" They've landed in the forest. The perimeters have been breached. "

Strucker cursed silently saying, " They have to be after the scepter. Can we hold them? "

The young man from before had a look of disbelief on his face. " T-they're Avengers! " He squeaked out.

" Gather the rest of the tanks. Begin firing on the weak ones. A hit and we'll make them close ranks. " Strucker walked over to a man and began whispering to him.

Birch could still hear what he was saying due to his enhanced hearing. " Send out the boy and the twins. " Wanda and Pietro shared a look as Birch continued to listen, whatever he heard the twins heard through the mental link.

"It's too soon. " The man questioned Strucker's words.

" It's what they signed up for. " The man said. But Strucker wouldn't give in easily. The man didn't question him again as Strucker said, " My men can hold them. " Strucker gave the twins and Birch a glance before turning around. Agents ran out of the base to face the intruders, the Avengers may have been outnumbered but that wasn't going to change anything.

" We will not yield. The Americans sent their circus freaks after us. We will send them back in bags. " Strucker circled the room with hands folded behind his back. He appeared calm and confident. " No surrender! "

" No surrender! " Everyone echoed back. Suddenly Pietro grabbed Wanda and Birch's arms and sped them away before anyone would notice.

Pietro ran to the side of the base where no one would be. " Wanda you stay here until I come back. Hide so no one will find you. Who knows what these Americans with do if they find you. Birch and I will handle these _Avengers_. " Wanda watched as her brother and friend headed out to the battle.

Pietro ran out of the base and dropped Birch off at the edge of the forest. He spotted an explosion and ran off with a laugh. This was going to be fun.

Birch listened to the chaos all around him and took in a deep breath. He hasn't been outside for so long it felt great. The crispy cold air felt good on his face and the snow covered ground was soft. Birch stretched before getting down on all fours, he learned awhile ago that he had the ability to run faster with all of his limbs in use. His legs launched him into motion while his hands grasped the ground and threw him forward.

Pietro ran through the forest before noticing a man hiding behind a tree with a bow in his hands. He must have been one of the Avengers. The man aimed one of his arrows at a small Hydra bunker and shot at it.

Pietro easily caught up with the arrow and watched it slowly head towards it's destination. Pietro grabbed the arrow watching the man behind the tree wait for the bunker to explode.

A few moments later he looked at the bunker and saw it undamaged. He quickly reloaded his bow and aimed another arrow at the bunker. But this time the arrow wasn't going to even fly. Pietro ran and hit the arrow-man at full speed. The man hit the ground with a surprised yelp.

Pietro walked in front of him twirling the arrow in his hands. " You didn't see that coming? " Pietro taunted before speeding off. He saw another man in a suit with a shield and ran into him sending the man up in the air. Surprisingly the man with the shield landed on his feet expertly.

" We have an enhanced in the field. " The man with the shield said to his teammates over the comm.

Steve looked out for any incoming enemy agents as Stark looked for a way into the Hydra base. His shield in hand, he began to head to the edge of the forest. He heard a shuffling noise and looked to his right, nothing in sight.

He began to walk when he suddenly felt a powerful strike hit his back. He landed on the ground a few feet away from the spot he was just standing at. He wildly searched for his attacker and didn't see the blur. He got on his feet as quickly as he could and started to run.

" There are two enchanced in the field. " Steve warned over the comms hoping that no one else got attacked.

Birch was running through the forest staying out of sight. He was near the edge of the forest when he saw one of the Americans that Strucker mentioned. This American had a shield in his hand and looked rather strong, Birch would have to use the element of surprise. Birch crouched behind several trees before running quickly to the American with the shield.

When he was several feet away from the American, Birch started to launch himself into the air and tucked into a ball. He delivered a kick to the American's back sending him sprawling onto the ground. Birch ran off before the American could spot him.

Birch listened to the American report to his teammates about another ' enhanced ' in the field. He must've been talking about Birch. He was wrong though, Birch wasn't an enhanced.

Wanda was hidden in the shadows as she watched Strucker stand a few meters away from her. There was a sudden bang as a man with a combat suit and a shield kick down an agent.

" Hydra's number one thug. " The man said as he stalked over to Strucker. The man began asking about the whereabouts of the scepter.

Wanda began to emerge from the shadows, eyes and hands glowing with power. Strucker eyed her as she came out of the shadows. The man didn't seem to notice her presence as she got closer to his side.

" How many are there? " The man asked. Wanda activated her powers and threw the man down the stairs. He fell down the stairs with a grunt and quickly recovered. He began to head back up the stairs. Wanda stepped back behind doors and slammed them shut with her telekinesis.

Wanda entered the secret chamber where the scepter was. She heard a another male voice speak. Many experiments lay on tables with equipment surrounding them. A huge strange creature layed on display with it's huge jaw hanging open.

" Thor I got eyes on the prize. " It was Stark. The man who was responsible for her parents death and the destruction of their home. This was a time for revenge.

Wanda walked towards Stark, deathly quiet. She sent the man into his worst fears and nightmares. Wanda through her mental link told Pietro and Birch where she was and who was with her.

She watched in surprise as Stark gasped and broke out of his nightmare. Stark looked around making sure he was awake. Wanda heard the quiet sound of shoes hitting the floors and soon Pietro arrived along with Birch.

Pietro glared at Stark and started to advance towards the older man. His face was illuminated with an eerie glow from lights above. Birch's throat grumbled with a small growl and his hand and part of his wrist changed into a sword. The sword cut through the air with a satisfying slice. Wanda put a hand on Pietro's chest and through the mental link said, No. I have a plan.

Stark raised his hand in the air.

" We're just going to let him take it. " Pietro grounded out from clenched teeth. Birch agreed making a sound of confusion. Birch had heard about Stark, about how the twins hated him. Wanda didn't respond and watched Stark with a growing smile.

Something shot through the air and attached itself to Stark's hand. It was a metal glove and soon Stark snatched the scepter.

Maria Hill entered the jet as it landed. She spotted Stark and Steve still remaining in the jet. " Labs all set up boss. " She informed Stark as he turned around in the pilots seat.

" Uh, actually he's the boss, " Stark pointed at Steve, " I just pay for everything and design everything and make everything look cooler. " Maria rolled her eyes at Stark's usual snark.

She informed Steve about the location of Strucker.

" The two enhanced? " Steve walked towards Maria. Maria turned on the tablet in her arms.

" Wanda and Pietro Maximoff, twins. Orphaned at twelve when a bomb hit their neighborhood. The other one's real name is unknown but it has been noted that the twins nicknamed him Birch. Sokovia has a rough history. It's no where special but it's on the everywhere special. " Steve took the tablet from Maria.

" Their abilities? "

" The older twin has increased metabolism and improved thermo homeostasis. The younger twin, her thing is neural electric interfacing and telekinesis, mental manipulation. " Steve gave her a look. " He's fast and she's weird. "

" And what about the third one? The boy. " Before Maria could start Steve said, " Keep it simple. "

" Basically he has cybernetic implanments and millions of tiny robots in his bloodstreams that help him make stuff. "

Steve could say only one thing. " Yeah they'll be back. "

" Agreed. Files says the twins volunteered for Strucker's experiments. It's nuts. " Steve entered the elevator and turned at Maria's words.

" Yeah what kind of monster would let a German scientist experiment on them to protect their country? " Steve said with a small smile.

" We're not at war Captain. "

" They are. " Steve watched the doors close.

Pietro, Wanda and Birch walked up to the monastery. They didn't know who or what was waiting for them there but they were ready. Leaves crunched beneath Pietro's feet as he made his way up the hill alongside his sister and friend. As they entered the monastery Birch sniffed the air searching for the scent of the person who wanted to meet them. Nothing. He didn't smell any other human being in the monastery other than Pietro and Wanda. Birch picked up the scent of machinery in the air.

There was a throne sitting in the middle of the circular room with a figure draped in a cloak on it.

Wanda was the first to speak, " Talk, and if you are wasting our time- " The figure interrupted her with a metallic voice.

" Did you know this church is in the exact center of this city? The elders decreed it so they could be equally close to God. I like that, the geometry of belief. " Birch frowned at the stranger's words. There was a pause. Wanda concentrated at the figure trying to read his thoughts.

" You're wondering why you can't see inside my head. " The stranger stated.

" Sometimes it's hard. But sooner or later a man shows himself. " Wanda answered slowly walking towards the stranger. The stranger stood up, surprisingly tall with a menacing atmosphere.

The cloak slid off and revealed not a man but a humanoid android. " Well I'm sure they do. " Birch's hands clenched into fist, ready to fight. Wanda gasped involuntarily in surprise. Pietro instinctively stood behind her, his hands brushed against her back.

" But you needed something more than a man. " The android continued. " That's why you let Stark take the scepter. " The android walked towards them. Birch resisted the urge to form a cannon out of his hand.

" I didn't expect... " Wanda trailed off and nodded at the android. " But I saw Stark's fear. I knew it would control him, make him self destruct. " Birch looked at Wanda in understanding, her plan worked.

" Everyone creates the things they dread. " The android looked down at them with unnatural red eyes. " Men of peace create machines of war. Invaders create Avengers. People create, " The android paused a look of indesicion was on his face, " Uh smaller people. Um.. Children! Ha-ha lost the word there. " The android had a grin on his face.

Birch snorted at the android's words. The android said, " Children designed to supplant them. To help them.. end. "

Birch looked up at the android wondering where he came from. Birch could tell that this strange android was relatively new, just made into the world.

" Is that why you come? To end the Avengers? " Wanda queried. The android turned around to look at her.

" I've come to save the world. But also yeah. " The android answered with a cheery tone.

They soon traveled back to the Hydra Research Base at the android's request. The android introduced himself as Ultron.

Ultron lead them to the chamber where the scepter was once held. " We'll move out right away. " He surveyed the chamber and everything in it. He raised his hands as if beholding the chamber. " This is a start but there's something we need, to do the real work. " Birch eyed the android with suspicion. Ultron had not directly told them his plan, just gave hints.

" All of these are.. ? " Wanda looked at the machines in the chamber.

" Me. " Ultron answered simply and proudly. He flew over to a hanging chain and pulled. " I have what the Avengers never will. Harmony. They're discordant, they're disconnected. Stark's already got them turning on each other. And when you get inside the rest of their heads- "

Pietro impatiently listened before saying, " Everyone's plan is not to kill them. " Ultron flew towards them with a tilted head.

" And make them maurders. You need patience, " Ultron landed on the floor. Birch took a step back. " Need to see the big picture. "

Pietro's temper flared at the android's words and said, " I don't see the big picture. I have a little picture. " Wanda looked at Pietro as he spoke. Birch remembered the story of how the twins lost everything they loved. " I take it out and look at it everyday. "

" You lost your parents at the bombings. I saw the records. " Ultron confirmed.

" The records are not the picture. " Pietro said.

" Pietro, " Wanda started to warn.

" No please. " Ultron watched Pietro intently. The older twin continued, " We're twelve years old and having dinner the four of us and the first she'll hits the house. It was big, our parents go in and the house comes down. I grab her, " Pietro nodded at Wanda, " roll under the bed and the second shell hits. But it doesn't go off, just sits there in the rubble. Three feet from our faces and on the side of the shell it had painted one word- " Pietro averted his eyes to the floor. Wanda finished for him.

" Stark. " Birch watched Ultron tilt his head.

" We were trapped for two days. "

" Every effort to save us, every shift in the bricks I think- this will set it off. We wait for two days for Tony Stark to kill us. " Wanda's voice held bitterness and pain. Birch didn't make a sound and stood still, he was told this story many times and it always got him transfixed while listening to it. The twins remembered that day vividly.

" I wondered why only you two survived Strucker's experiments. Now I know. I also know where your loyalty lies. " Ultron said to Birch with a knowing look in his red eyes. " We will make it right. We can hurt them. " Ultron eyed Pietro and Birch pointedly. He looked at Wanda. " But you will tear them apart from the inside. " His hand reached out and barely touched Wanda's hair.

Soon they headed to an African shipyard where something called vibranuim was located. Birch listened to men complain and give out orders at the shipyard, the whole place smelled like sweat and machines.

Birch wirelessly shut down the whole shipyards power. He heard the workers shout with confusion and outrage. Flashlights were turned on and people began to yell at each other. A man in an office looking over everyone watched all the men yell. His name was Ulysses Klaue.

Pietro grabbed Wanda and Birch and ran straight to the office. Klaue slowly began to reach for his gun on his desk. He grabbed it and cautiously headed towards the doorway. There was a movement and his finger pulled the trigger, the bullet went flying.

Birch was in front of Wanda and his nanites constructed him a metal glove on his right hand. The boy quickly caught the bullet with ease as Pietro ran past him and restrained Klaue. The older man then saw all of his bullets lined up in a neat row on his desk. Pietro sighed and crossed his arms. Wanda and Birch soon joined his side. Birch's eyes glowed slightly in the dim light

" Strucker's prized pupils. " Klaue sat down in an old chair. He observed the newcomers. " Want a candy? " He offered the plate of sweets. He put it down when no one moved. " Sorry to hear about Strucker. But then he knew what kind of world he was helping to create. Human life on the growth market. " Birch frowned at the words. He didn't know that. He looked over to Pietro and Wanda and could tell they didn't know either. Klaue's dirty face light with realization.

" You didn't know this. Is this your first time intimidating someone? " Klaue mocked them. " I'm afraid that I'm not that afraid. "

That set Wanda into action, she walked closer to Klaue. " Everyone is afraid of something. " Birch took a menacing step towards the older man. Klaue started to speak and Birch stopped walking towards him.

" Cuttlefish. " Klaue confessed. Birch tilted his head at the unexpected answer. As Klaue ranted on about cuttlefish Pietro snatched the plate of candy with his super speed. He had a sweet tooth that he couldn't deny.

" So if you're going to fiddle with my brain and make me see a giant cuttlefish then I know you don't do business. Then I know you're not in charge. " Klaue roughly stood up. " And I only speak to the man in charge. "

Birch saw Ultron fly up from behind the glass.

Soon Klaue was thrown through a glass window and he fell with a scream of pain. Ultron stood above him and said, " There is no man in charge. "


	8. Switching over to chaos

Ultron leaned down close to Klaue's face menacingly, " Let's talk business. " Klaue breathed heavily, his heart was racing with fear.

One of Klaue's men came and slid open a heavy door revealing a room full of barrels. Birch stood beside the room and looked in curiously. The room began to slid down and another room filled with containers of some sort of metal. Klaue took one of the containers off of it's shelf.

" Upon this rock I will build my church. " Ultron took the container from Klaue. " Vibranuim. " Ultron tossed the vibranuim to Pietro, who catches it swiftly. Pietro examined the container before he handed it to Birch. The boy looked at it before an inky liquid began to creep up the container's side. In a matter of minutes the vibranuim was completely covered by the liquid before the liquid receded back into Birch's hand, taking the vibranuim with it. Birch had just safely put the vibranuim away.

Klaue nervously scratched his neck, " You know that came at a great personal cost. It's worth _billions_. " Ultron chuckled darkly and looked up at the ceiling for a few seconds. Birch could feel Ultron accessing databases around the world. Wanda bit her lip nervously at the whole exchange.

" And now so are you. " The dark skinned man that was with Klaue had his phone vibrate. The man looked at it with alarm. Klaue took the phone with sweat accumulating on his face. Ultron had a cheery note in his voice as he spoke again, " It's all in your dummy holdings? Finances are so weird. But as I always say keep your friends rich and your enemies rich and find out which is which. " Klaue looked up at Ultron with realization.

He uttered one word, " Stark. "

" What? "

" Tony Stark used to say that to me. Your one of his. "

Ultron looked outraged at Klaue's words. " What?! I'm not-! " Ultron grabbed Klaue's arm and Klaue's dark skinned henchman brought out his gun but Wanda forced his hand down with her powers. Strangely the dark skinned man tried to fight against Wanda's power.

" I am not one of Stark's puppets, one of his hollow men. Look at me. Do I look like Iron Man? Stark is nothing! " Ultron in a fit of rage slashed off Klaue 's arm with a disgusting sounding squish. Wanda and Pietro gasped in surprised at the sevred arm. Birch cringed at the sight.

Klaue stumbled away from Ultron. The android tried to provide some consolation. " I'm sorry. Ooh! I'm sorry, I think that'll be okay I'm sorry. It's just that I don't understand don't compare with Stark! " Ultron kicked Klaue and the man fell down the stairs with a grunt. Birch heard something, or rather someone.

Ultron ranted on, " Its just a thing with me. Stark's a sickness! "

" Aw junior. " Ultron whipped around. Iron Man appeared in front of him. Along with the other Avengers. " Your going to break your old man's heart. "

" If I have to. " Birch listened to them talk about omlets for some strange reason. Pietro walked forward with an eased gait.

" Ah this is funny, Mr. Stark. Is this comfortable? Like old times? " Pietro looked down at the missiles resting on their stands.

Stark looked away, " This was never my life. " Birch snorted but made no move Captain looked at them.

" You three can walk away from this. " He said trying to convince them. Wanda gave him a smirk saying, " Oh we _will._ "

" I know you've suffered. " The Captain continued. Ultron gave a loud sound of disgust.

" Captain, Captain. God's righteous man, pretending he could live without a war. I can't psychically throw up in my mouth- " Ultron pointed at his mouth before getting interrupted by Thor.

" If you believe in peace then let us keep it. "

Ultron stopped talking for a moment. Birch tensed and waited for his next move. " I think you're confusing peace with quiet. " Ultron took a step towards the Avengers.

" Uh-huh what's the vibranuim for? " Stark asked impatiently.

" I'm glad you asked. I think it's time to explain my evil plan. " Ultron yanked Stark over to him before hitting philanthropist with beams from his hands. That set everybody in action, Stark forward and began to fight against Ultron.

Some of Ultron's drones came out from the shadows and attacked Captain America and Thor. Pietro ran forward and hit the the god of thunder with a blast of speed. The Captain got up and decided to go after Wanda. Birch stood in his way and kicked the man down.

Birch hacked into the Avengers comms and heard a voice ask, " Guys is this a code green? " Birch made sure to screw up the reception before going after one of the Avengers.

Birch saw a red haired woman taking out one of the drones. He jumped up and landed in front of her.

Natasha tensed as she saw the boy stand in front of her. By the way the boy stood it looked like he was ready to kill in a second without much hesitation. He looked strong and honestly would be harder to take down than Natasha originally thought.

Natasha sent a jab to the boy's face but he quickly deflected it. She tried to sweep his legs but he jumped and grabbed her and threw her up into the air. Natasha grabbed his arm and wrapped her legs around his torso. She quickly electrocuted his shoulder with her bracelets she called the Widow's Bite. The boy gripped his shoulder with his icey blue eyes glaring at her. Seemed like Natasha only succeeded in pissing the boy off. Smoke was rising up from the boy's shoulder.

He gave out a loud animalistic growl before lashing out at her again. Quicker than she expected he kicked out and she hit the wall behind out with her breath knocked out of her. She saw the girl twin beside her before she was sent into her nightmare.

Birch watched the red headed woman stumble around before sniffing his shoulder. Not much damage was done by the woman's bracelets. He went out searching for anymore remaining enemies. There was a sound that sounded like a whistle before an arrow hit the floor next to Birch's feet. It suddenly exploded and Birch went flying off the railing and landing hard on the floor beneath him.

" Done the whole mind control thing. I'm not a fan. " The arrow man was saying as he watched Wanda stand before him with an arrow stuck go her head. Pietro appeared and hit the man from behind viciously sending him through glass.

Pietro yanked the arrow from Wanda's forhead before running away. He carried his sister bridal style before running off to find Birch. Birch was just getting up from the recent explosion that threw him off the railing.

Birch along with the twins were suddenly safely outside thanks to Pietro. Wanda was gasping in pain. Pietro kneeled down next to her asking, " What can I do? Birch can you do something? " He looked at the younger boy. Birch only shook his head. They had to wait for the pain to pass.

" Ah it hurts. " Wanda gasped. " It... " Wanda didn't finish and continued to moan in pain. Anger radiated from Pietro.

He growled out, " I'll kill him. I'll be right back. " But Wanda held out a hand to stop him. Birch kneeled down next to her steadying her so she could stand.

" I'm alright. I want, " Wanda said between gasps, " I want to finish the plan. I want the big one. " Birch spotted the jet the Avengers used to get here.

Pietro picked up Wanda and Birch before speeding them over to the jet. There was a man there with no kind of suit on him. Before the man could move Birch's hand changed into a plasma cannon and the boy pointed it at the man. He growled loudly as the man tried to take a step back from them.

Wanda wasted no time and scarlet powers appeared around her hands and shot into the man's head. He began to groan and started to fall to the ground. His body seemed to enlarge and his clothes started to rip. Thankfully Pietro picked them up and ran off before they saw what was going to happen.

Pietro ran to the revendous point where Ultron wanted to meet them. Soon they all headed towards Soul, Korea. As they broke quietly into the U-Gin Research Lab Ultron had brought some of his drones.

" You still have the Scepter? " Ultron asked Birch who was standing behind him. The boy nodded and nanites that looked like black liquid came out of his hand and formed the shape of the Scepter. Soon the Scepter was in Birch's hand.

" Thank you. I knew that you were would be able to keep it safe. " Ultron took the Scepter from Birch's hand. Birch then hid in the shadows along with Wanda and Pietro.

Birch watched Helen Cho attach a tube to Ultron's head. " We're uploading your cerebral matrix now. " Birch looked at all of the advanced medical devices. He especially was intrigued by the Cradle.

Wanda walked slowly into the room. " I can read him. He's.. dreaming. " Birch glanced at Pietro who seemed to be bewildered by all of the technology.

" I wouldn't call it dreams. It's Ultron's base consciousness. " Helen informed Wanda. " Informational noise, soon- "

" How soon? I'm not being pushy. " Ultron asked somewhat eagerly. Wanda touched the Cradle's surface and suddenly screamed out. Pietro was immediately by her side. Birch scanned the Cradle for any kind of danger. Ultron stood up at her outburst with a knowing look.

" How could you? " Wanda demanded she still was clinging to Pietro.

" How could I what? " The android seemed to be getting angry.

" You-you said we would destroy the Avengers. " Ultron's hand clenched into a fist. " Make a better world! "

" It will be. "

" When everybody is dead? "

Ultron seemed to lose his temper at that. " That is not-! The human race will have every opportunity improve. "

" And if they don't? " Pietro asked looking up at Ultron.

The android seemed to hesitate before saying, " Ask Noah. " Birch took a step back closer to the twins protectively.

" You're a mad man. " Wanda whispered out.

" There are more than a dozen of extinction level events before the dinosaurs got their turn! So when everything settles God throws a stone at it. And believe me he is willing out. It's time to evolve. There's no room for the weak. " Ultron caressed the Cradle.

Wanda quickly released Helen from the Scepter's control. Helen gasped softly but gave no signs that she was free. Ultron continued to talk about life and evolution before there was a small click.

" There's incoming. The quinjet, we have to move. "

" That's no problem. " Helen began to type something in the keyboard. One of the screens around the room announced the uploading was paused. Ultron sigjed in annoyance and suddenly shot Helen with a beam from his hand. Pietro quickly grabbed Wanda and Birch and zoomed out of there.

They arrived at a small market area of the city. Pietro took a few seconds to catch his breath and looked around him to see that no one seems to notice their sudden appearance. There was a small TV hanging of the walk talking about two strange figures attacking each other on top of a truck.

Birch recognized the two figures as Ultron and Captain America. He hummed in displeasure and saw that Pietro was having conflicted thoughts on what to do.

" What do we now? " Pietro asked while looking around at the market. Wanda seems to think about it and looked at Birch. The boy nodded and was ready to do whatever they were planning.

" We have to help the Americans. We need to fix what we started with Ultron. " Wanda said firmly with confidence evident in her voice.

They were soon on a moving train as Ultron and the Captain were dueling. Pietro ran and hit Ultron sending the android a few feet back. Wanda then manipulated the train's metal railings in front of Ultron. The android saw Birch's hand form into a powerful plasma cannon, the boy stood next to Pietro.

Ultron seemed saddened and conflicted as he said, " Please don't do this. "

" What choice do we have? " Wanda said grimly. Ultron turned and shot a hole in the train's back. He shot out of the train before Birch could catch him.

Captain Amercian said into his comms, " I lost him. He's heading your way! " He ran to the front of the train and saw that the driver was dead.

Birch came up beside him and examined the controls. The Captain looked at the boy a little startled, last time he saw Birch the boy had tried to attack him. It was a big change but there was no time to think about it.

The train lurched off the tracks and into several alleyways. The people in the train screamed in fright. The Captain stuck his head out of the train and saw the quinjet in the air. " If you have the package take it to Stark! Go! " The Captain ordered into his comms.

The Captain looked at the twins and Birch. He pointed to the front of the train, " Civilians are in the path. " Pietro immediately ran out of the train and began to grab the civilians and pulling them out of the way.

" Can you stop this thing? " The Captain asked Wanda and Birch.

Birch gave an unsure nod before going to the front of the train. He saw Pietro grabbing civilians out of the way of the train. Birch formed metal gloves and boots on his hand and feet before jumping out of the train and holding his hands out so he was pushing against the train. The train slowed down but it didn't stop, Birch gritted his teeth as the train went through a wall. The concrete beneath Birch's feet cracked and split as his feet dug into the ground as he tried to stop the train.

Birch saw Wanda's scarlet powers on the wheels of the train. Finally the train stopped with smoke rising out from the sides. People quickly exited from the train with help from others.

Pietro sat down breathing heavily. Wanda looked over at him with concern. " I'm fine. Just give me a minute. " Birch shook the rubble off his legs and feet before the metal boots and gloves disappeared as Birch mentally ordered them to. Birch walked over to the twins and looked at Pietro for any lasting damage. There was none.

The Captain walked over to them, " I'm tempted not to give you one. " He was still angry over their last meeting most likely.

Wanda ignored what he said and asked, " The Cradle. Did you get it? "

" Stark will take care of it. " Wanda's eyes widened at his words. She shook her head at him.

" No he won't. " Birch looked at Pietro. Pietro was silent and was still catching his breath.

" You don't know what you're talking about. Stark's not crazy. "

" No but he will do anything to make things right. " That seemed to make him think. The Captain looked at Wanda before trying to contact Stark on the comms.

Wanda watched him silently. " Ultron doesn't know the difference from destroying the world and saving it. Where do you think he gets that? "

" We need to get to Stark. Come on. " The Captain said hoping that Stark wouldn't do what everyone else would expect. He hoped.

As they made it into the lab Steve took off his helmet and headed into the lab. " I'm going to say this once. " Steve threatened.

" How about nonce? " Stark replied taking his eyes off the computer he was typing on. He saw that the twins and the boy had joined Steve.

" Shut it down. "

" Nope. " Stark countered without a second thought.

Steve was getting angrier, " You don't know what your doing. " Bruce looked at Wanda behind Steve with hatred in his eyes.

" And you do? " Brucd said. " Did she get into your head? "

Wanda spoke trying to apologise, " I know you're angry. "

" Oh we're way last that. I could choke the life out of you and never change a shade. " Birch frowned at Bruce's threat. Birch walked over to Bruce looking the man over, seeing how much of a threat he actually was. " Careful kid I'm not afraid to hurt you either. " Bruce threatened. All of them began to argue, they yelled and tried to convince each other what to do and what not to do.

Pietro sighed before running to the Cradle and pulling all of the tubes out of it, cutting it from it's power supply. Pietro then stood next to Birch saying, " No no go on. You were saying? "

There was a gun shot and Pietro looked down and saw a bullet slowly shoot up into the air. The glass beneath him shattered and Pietro fell down along with Birch. Wanda screamed out. Birch on the other hand had one foot on the glass and another on the solid floor. When the glass shattered Birch's right foot fell down and the edge of the solid floor hit right at Birch's groin. Birch let out a dog-like yelp of pain as he fell down to the floor, his hand clutched at the middle of his legs. He was feeling one of the worst pains he had ever felt before.

Clint quickly put a foot on Pietro's leg tauntingly saying, " What? You didn't see that coming? " He looked at Birch and pointed a gun to the boy's direction. Clint honestly thought the boy would be out of commission for a good amount of time. The hit the boy took seemed pretty hard.


	9. Finally the fight begins

All of the Avengers and Wanda began to fight. Birch could hear them strike each other and struggle to either save the Cradle or to stop it. Birch let out a rare whine before rolling into his back. He heard the crackle of electricity as he finally stood up. There was a sound of an explosion, then the shatter of glass.

Pietro was already standing up and he nodded at Birch. He zoomed off to return to Wanda's side. Birch followed and went to the balcony that overlooked the lower floors. He jumped over the railing and landed next to Wanda and Pietro.

There was a strange red being floating above the floor. Everyone was alert as the strange being came closer to them. The strange being floated down, it's feet touched the floor as it stood. Thor was the one to approach it.

The being spoken with a soft male voice, " I'm sorry... That was odd. Thank you. " He nodded at Thor who gave a slight nod in response. The being formed a cape on it's shoulders that flowed near the ground.

Steve was the next to speak. " Thor, you helped create this? " He had a hard look on his face.

" I've had a vision. A whirlpool that sucks in all hope of life and at it's center is that, " Thor pointed at the stone in the being's forhead.

" What, the gem? " Bruce asked moving a few steps forward.

" It's the Mind Stone. One of the six infinity stones. The greatest power in the universe unparalleled by it's destructive capabilities. " Birch had never heard of infinity stones. He did see the Mind Stone in action when Ultron used it on Helen, but he never thought the stone could be so powerful and important.

" Then why would- " Steve began but was quickly cut off by Thor.

" Stark is right. "

" Oh it's definitely the end times now. " Bruce said with a small voice. The twins would definitely agree with him. Birch gave a small snort and leaned against the wall.

Thor continued, " The Avengers cannot defeat Ultron. "

The being took a step forward. " Not alone. "

" Why does your vision sound like Jarvis? "

Tony stared at the being saying, " I reconfigured Jarvis's matrix, to create something new. " Steve glared at Tony's back.

" I think I've had my fill of new. " Steve said as the being cut into the conversation.

The being looked at them with silver eyes. " You think I'm a child of Ultron. " The being concluded.

" You're not? " Steve asked skeptically with a raised brow. The being looked back at him without wavering his gaze.

The being shook his head, " I'm not Ultron. I'm not Jarvis, I'm.. I am. " Wanda stepped forward with anger in her voice.

" I had looked inside your head and saw annihilation. " Wanda said staring hard at the being. Pietro complained to Wanda via mental link. He had almost been tempted to grab Wanda away from the strange red being.

The being protested back, " Look again. "

Clint walked down the stairs with a look of resentment pointed at Wanda. " Yeah her seal of approval means jack to me. " Birch gave a slight growl at him but stayed silent and continued to watch them argue.

" Their powers, the horrors inside our heads, Ultron himself, " Thor listed, " They all came from the mind stone and they're nothing compared to what it can unleash. But with it on our side- "

Steve interrupted angrily, " But is it? " He looked at the being. " Are you on our side? "

The being hesitated, " I don't think it's that simple. "

" Well it better get simple real soon. " Birch could feel the tension thicken in the atmosphere.

The being spoke again, " I am on the side of life. Ultron isn't. He would end everything. "

" What are you waiting for? "

" You. " Was the simple answer.

Bruce had his hands folded in front of him. He had a dangerous atmosphere surrounding him. He looked at the being. " If we're wrong, if you're the monster Ultron made you out to be... "

The being looked down at the smaller man. " What will you do? " A pause. Birch took a deep breath to try to calm his beating heart. " I don't want to destroy Ultron. He's unique. And he's in pain. But that pain will roll over the Earth. So he must be destroyed. Every form he's built. Every trace of his presence on the Internet. We have to act now. " The being turned to the group. " And not one of us can do it without the others. Maybe I am a monster but I think I would know if I were one. And not what you are, and not what you intended. So their may be no you for you to trust me. But we need to go, " The being walked over to a table where Thor's hammer lay. He picked it up to the surprised gasps of the Avengers.

For a moment everyone just stared. Birch looked at the Avengers in confusion. He guess that picking up the hammer wasn't a normal thing to do. Thor took the hammer and stared at it. Clint looked like he was about to say something and opened his mouth but then he closed it. Thor awkwardly patted his hammer, " Alright. Well done. " He patted Tony on the shoulder and quickly walked away.

Steve was the one that broke the silence. " Three minutes. Get anything that you need. " The twins and Birch were guided into a small room filled with several equipment.

Birch didn't take anything from the shelves except for a new pair of shoes. Pietro grabbed a pair of shoes from the shelves and a new shirt. Wanda glanced around the room slightly curious. Birch tested his nanites by forming a metal glove over his right hand before making it disappear.

Pietro opened a door and grabbed a red jacket out of it. He threw it at Wanda, who caught it with her shoulder. She gave Pietro a half-hearted glare but proceeded to put it on. The trio made their way into the Avenger's jet.

Birch was handed a comm along with Pietro and Wanda. Pietro was putting on his comm as Steve spoke, " Ultron knows we're coming. Odds are we're riding into heavy fire. And that's what we signed up for. But the people of Sokovia, they didn't. " Pietro looked up at the mention of his home country. " So our priority is getting them out. All they want is to live their lives in peace, that's not going to happen today. But we can do our best to protect them. And we can get the job done. We find out what Ultron has been building. We find Romanoff. We clear the field. Keep the fight between us. Ultron thinks we're monsters, that we're what's wrong with the world. "

Bruce gritted his teeth at what Steve said. Birch looked down with unknown shame washing over him and anger from years of the torture he had gone through in order to be made into the weapon he was today. Steve continued, " This isn't just about beating him. It's about whether he's right. "

As the jet landed on Sokovia's soil Pietro ran out of the jet. He came back with a frustrated look on his face. He looked at Birch and said, " Give me a gun. " Birch formed a long gun in his hand and handed to Pietro.

Pietro ran off for a second time and came back a few moments later. The gun wasn't with him anymore. " How did it go? " Wanda asked anxiously.

Pietro gave her a tired smirk, " They're moving their asses now. "

Birch helped the Sokovian citizens evacuate the country quickly. He navigated the traffic as best as he could. The beeping of the cars hurt Birch's sensitve ears and he tried to ignore the loud sounds as best as he could. Birch looked at the citizens' frightened faces, deep in thought. He knew that not all of the citizens could leave the country in time. People will die if they didn't do anything. He wasn't going to let that happen.

The ground started to shake and people began to scream. There were explosions and suddenly Ultron's newly made drones erupted from the ground. The drones started to shoot at the ground and the buildings causing rubble to go everywhere. Birch shielded a woman from a large piece of stone falling from a nearby building. He ushered the woman away to safety.

Drones began to attack on the bridge. Several of them climbed onto the edges of the bridge. Birch formed a plasma gun out of his left hand and shot a drone down. Another drone stood behind it and created it's own plasma cannon and shot at Birch. He dodged it and rushed at the drone while forming a sword out of his hand. He speared the drone and watched it collapse to the ground.

Clint shot one drone down, off of the bridge and another went to attack Steve on a car. " Go! " Steve commanded as a drone attacked him from behind. Screams sounded everywhere.

" Get off the bridge, " Wanda yelled out as more drones came. Birch sliced a drone in half and than chopped off another drone's head. He growled out when another drone tackled him briefly to the ground. Birch kicked out and the drone went falling off the bridge and to the ground.

Wanda shielded a group of civilians from a shot from a drone from a few meters away. " Run! " She exclaimed as she continued to fend off the drone's attack. The drone shot at her shield again with it's plasma gun and Wanda fell to the ground. She sent a mental distress signal to Birch as the drone readied to shoot her again.

Suddenly a blade errupted from it's chest and it fell down with a defeated groan. Birch stood behind it, his right hand a lethal sword and his other hand a plasma cannon. The sword and the cannon disappeared as he helped Wanda up from the ground.

Suddenly cracks began to appear everywhere. People started to almost fall in but Birch ran over to them and pulled them to safety. Birch saw a toddler near the cracks and he rushed over a grabbed the little girl. He grabbed her and jumped backwards. Birch looked at the toddler and saw something familiar in her face.

The frightened little girl clutched Birch's hoodie and began to babble slightly. Birch saw a woman in worker clothes rushing to safety. Birch handed the familiar toddler to the woman and helped her get to safety.

Suddenly Sokovia started to rise up into the air. A policeman was trying to help a woman up as she stood on the edge of the rising city. She fell down with a scream but Birch commanded his nanites to form a long arm and grab her.

Ultron's voice began to sound everywhere from the drones. " Do you see? The beauty of it? The invertible? You rise only to fall. " The city began to rise higher and higher. Ultron continued, " You Avengers, you are my meteor, my swift and terrible sword. And the Earth will crack with the weight of your faliure. Purge me from your computers and turn my own flesh against me. It means nothing, when the dust settles. The only thing living in this world, " Ultron paused, " Will be metal. "

A drone came flying out of nowhere and it suddenly grabbed Birch's foot and carried him into the air. Birch growled viciously before he grabbed the drones head and ripped it apart. He landed on his feet as the drone fell to the ground. Another drone came a hit Steve in the stomach, sending him into a car.

" Incoming already came in. " Steve said into the comms. " Stark you worry about bringing the city into safety. The rest of our jobs is to tear these things apart. If you get hurt, hurt them back. You get killed, walk it off. " Birch smirked at Steve's words.

Wanda was helping an old lady run to a shelter by guiding her. Clint was shooting arrows at drones non stop. Wanda flung a drone away as it attempted to swoop in on her. Several drones came in from above. Clint grabbed Wanda yelling, " Go go go! "

One hit the ground and it exploded, sending Clint and Wanda into a building. Birch jumped onto a drone a sliced off it's arms before he threw it into another drone, destroying both at the same time. A damaged drone shot Birch from behind and he stumbled in pain. Five drones threw themselves onto him and he struggled to held them off. He barked in frustration as more drones came in on him.

Wanda was panicking as she saw Birch disappear in a pile of drones. " Oh how could I let this happen? "

Clint turned to her looking concerned, " Hey are you okay? "

Wanda ignored his question, " This is all our fault. "

Clint interrupted her, " It's your fault, it's our fault- who cares? Are you up for this? Are you? " Wanda breathed heavily. " I need to know because the city is flying. Okay the city is flying, and we're fighting an army of robots. And I have a bow and arrow. None of this makes sense. " The wall exploded and Wanda screamed out in panic. Clint shot at the wall and tried to talk again.

" But I'm going back out there because of my job. Okay and I can't do my job and babysit, doesn't matter what you did or what you were. If you go out there and fight and you fight to kill, if you stay here you're good. I'll send your brother to come find you but if you step out that door, you are an Avenger. " Wanda stayed silent, taking on Clint's words.

Birch elbowed a drone off of him and shot it's chest with his plasma cannon. Arrows suddenly landed on the other drones and they exploded. Birch looked over and saw that Clint was back. The older man gave a short nod at Birch and continued to fight.

A boy was in a building with his family huddling in a corner for safety. Birch heard them scream as a drone broke into their home. He formed a vest on his torso and thrusters on the back of the vest. He flew up the side of the building and entered through the building's broken window. The drone stood in front of the family with an evil look somehow on it's face.

Ultron's voice came from the drone, " Birch you still don't have to do this. You can't save them all. "

Birch gave out a loud growl and a few barks before he jumped onto the drone. He smashed the drone's head into the wall before throwing it out the window. He turned to the family and gave them an out-of-practice grin.

The family looked slightly unnerved at Birch but they still let him lead them to shelter.


	10. The battle against the God complex

Birch heard the Hulk roar in the distance. Birch jumped off the building he was standing on and made sure no one was in danger. There didn't seem to be any civilians around the area. More drones came in relentlessly.

Clint came out of a building and readied his bow. Wanda was missing. Clint shot down drone after drone after drone and they just kept coming.

Birch's hand soon transformed into a plasma cannon and he quickly shot down three drones. Birch saw Clint jump behind a car and shoot an arrow at a drone. The drone soon exploded as the arrow hit it's mark. The explosion seemed to hit the car Clint was hiding behind.

" Ow. " Clint groaned as more drones came in. He seemed to be very outnumbered.

A building's doors flew open to reveal Wanda, she was ready to fight. She threw a drone away and it crashed into the ground. With her power she grabbed a drone a ripped it in half. The top half of the drone soon found itself thrown into another drone.

Clint nocked two arrows and shot two drones in the head. Birch ripped a cars door off and used it in a similar way Steve used his shield. Birch banged the door into drones before throwing it. The car door beheaded a drone. The drone collapsed onto the ground. The door stuck itself into a wall of one of the buildings.

Wanda formed a ball of energy and used it to destroy a drone. Two other drones went down with it. The wave of incoming drones seemed to stop. The sense of danger eased for a moment. The three of them glanced around the area.

Clint said into his comms. " Okay we're clear. "

Birch heard grunts and bangs from Steve's comm. The super soldier spoke, " We are not clear! We are very not clear! "

" Alright coming to you. " Clint said when Birch and Wanda were both carried off by Pietro. The male Maximoff twin left Clint in his dust.

Pietro taunted him saying, " Keep up old man! "

When they stopped Birch saw a line of policemen taking cover behind their cars. They were shooting at incoming drones. The police's bullets weren't doing well against the drones.

One of the drones had exploded a bench. A bullet bounced off a drone's shoulder.

Pietro dropped Wanda and Birch off. Birch turned his hand into a cannon and began to take down drones. Wanda stood beside him and was also taking down drones.

The captain of the police ordered, " Hold your fire! "

Pietro ran ahead of Wanda and Birch, not seeing the incoming bullet. Pietro felt a pain in his arm and he saw a bullet grazing his arm. He glanced down and felt annoyance more than anger. He looked over to where he was sure one of the police shot him.

One of the younger policemen slid down awkwardly. Pietro gave him a look and was almost tempted to run over there himself.

A shot was blasted and a beam of energy was making it's way to Pietro. He easily avoided it and did a short sprint before jumping. He landed on top of a drone and destroyed it. Around a dozen drones were standing in line, as if waiting to be destroyed.

Pietro ran and easily destroyed all of the drones. The drones remains fell to the ground.

Birch shot and slashed through drones before he sniffed the air. The air was getting thinner. Which meant they were getting higher. And that wasn't good for anyone. How were they going to stop the city's seemingly inevitable fall?

Steve called them in. Saying they needed to bring civilians to safety. Birch doubted that there was anywhere truly safe on the city. Nonetheless he followed Steve's orders. No point in arguing.

When Birch made his way to the store where Steve was located, Birch noticed the smoke and dust in the air. Wanda gently guided a while women into the store. Birch heard Tony's plan to blow up the city. He didn't like the idea of killing all these people but they might have to. He was willing to take the sacrifice of it meant saving humanity. Steve didn't seem too keen on going with the plan.

Birch felt a buzz in the air. It was a machine's signal. It was beginning to match the comms frequency. He could hear that something big was coming up.

Something had began rise from the fog. Birch felt himself connecting to files and the Internet to find out what was rising from the fog. A couple of months ago SHIELD and Hydra files were briefly public before put under wraps by the government. Still the government wasn't as protected against hackers as Hydra was. It made accessing the files easy. The thing rising from the air? It was a helicarrier, apparently.

Steve and Natasha were in front of the store, watching in amazement as the helicarrier came into full view. Pietro jogged over to the near edge of the city to watch. Birch could hear Steve say, " Fury, you son of a bitch. "

Birch almost grinned in amazement but decided not to. Smiling hurt his face since he barely does it. Instead a ghost of a smile appeared on his face.

The sides of the helicarrier opened to reveal small carriers flying to the city. They would be finally able to evacuate the city. Birch stood behind Steve and Natasha, still watching the carriers fly over to the city.

" This is SHIELD? " Pietro asked, his accent thickening.

" What it was supposed to be. "

Pietro smiled at Steve's words. " This is not so bad. " He looked back at Birch. The boy gave him a nod.

" Let's load them up. " Steve ran over to where they had placed the civilians.

Drones appeared suddenly, they were flying to the helicarrier. If Birch could talk he would have said some very unflattering things. He thought for a moment of creating a jetpack and flying over there to help them when unexpected help came in.

Bullets flew through the air and into the drones. War Machine came flying in, most likely enjoying his herioc entrance. From behind the buildings Tony appeared flying in his suit. He began to help Rhodey fight off the drones.

Birch focused his attention on evacuating the city. He pointed and pushed and pulled civilians into the direction of safety. Sometimes he would bark out but immediately take it back. It was embarrassing.

A carrier started to lower itself down from above. The wind ruffled Birch's hair as he looked up. Pietro ran past him carrying a young child to a carrier. Wanda wasn't in Birch's line of sight but he was still connected to the twin's mental link. They were talking to each other a lot. Birch didn't try to ccontribute to the conversation, he never did.

Birch watched as a drone managed to break into the helicarrier. No one screamed in panic and the helicarrier didn't seem in any danger of crashing so Birch assumed everything was okay. He looked at the building to his left and saw that it was a hospital.

Birch heard muffled laughter coming from the building. The hospital was broken down just like the other buildings. Lights flickered and smoke filled the hallways. Birch felt like he was in extremely familiar surroundings.

He jogged through the hallways until he came across a hallway with pictures on the walls. They were pictures of old workers. Birch looked down to see a familiar looking man. He didn't look like much but Birch could tell that he had some secret significance either for himself or someone else. The man was a father. Birch could tell becuase he saw a young boy with the man in the picture. Neither were smiling, they both looked sad and lonely.

The boy in the picture looked significantly like him. They looked too much alike for it to be a coincidence.

A headache started to throb in Birch's head. The boy threw a punch at picture's glass. It shattered easily. Birch slipped the small photo out of it's frame. The photo was a bit dusty and felt smooth between Birch's fingers. Birch put the photo away.

Tony's voice sounded in Birch's ear, " Avengers, time to work for a living. "

Pietro had already ran over to where Tony, Thor and Vision were. Birch soon followed, running along with Wanda. Clint wasn't far behind. The key was placed into the middle of the church where the twins and Birch had first met Ultron. Birch saw a few drones running up from any direction.

Pietro ran up to drone and smashed it into the ground. When Wanda arrived he asked her, " You good? " Wanda nodded.

Natasha drove in, coming as fast as she could. She stood next to Tony. " What's the drill? "

Tony pointed at the key, " This is the drill. Ultron gets a hand on the core and we lose. "

Hulk jumped in, crushing a drone on the way and destroying another. Ultron came down from the sky.

Thor decided to get cocky. Hammer in hand he yelled, " That's the best you can do? "

Ultron waved a hand and suddenly almost every single drone came running up to the broken down church. It looked like hundreds of drones were there. Birch stared and suddenly felt very tired. Ultron spread his arms out, as if beholding his army.

Steve looked at Thor in exasperation. " You had to ask. "

" This is the best I can do. " Ultron said smugly. " This is exactly what I wanted : all of you against all of me. How can you possibly hole to stop me? " The android had a serious god complex. That made him even more dangerous.

Tpny looked at Steve. " Well, like the old man said - together. " Hulk roared as the drones surged forward.

The drones were flying, running and crawling from every direction. Wanda shot out with her powers and destroyed several drones but new one just popped up in their place. Pietro zoomed around the place, taking down as many drones as he could. Vision somehow found a way to gracefully destroy drones. Birch sliced through a few drones before shooting down a couple. One time he simply punched through a drone's head.

All of the heros fought together seamlessly. Like they had done this kind of thing before. It was like they were in perfect harmony. This feeling of unison was what Ultron craved. Something that Ultron would never truly have.

Sometimes Birch jumped into the air and grab a drone. He would drag it down to the ground and destroy it. One time he managed to shoot out a beam of blue energy, managing to destroy dozens of drones in a couple of seconds. It drained a lot of energy to do that. He probably couldn't do that again today. The sounds of the battle sounded everywhere.

 _Bang. Clash. Roar._

Ultron burst into the scene. He fought with Vision for a moment before he was dragged out of the house. Vision shot a beam out of the stone in his head at Ultron. Ultron landed on the ground and seemed to try to shield himself.

Thor summoned lightning and shot it at Ultron. Tony joined in as well. Ultron fell to his knees, his face was melted in. Tony, Thor and Vision stopped their onslaught.

Ultron staggered up and groaned. " Uh, you know with the benefit of hindsight- " The android didn't get to finish.

Hulk seemed to have been annoyed at Ultron or something because he ran and smacked Ultron away. The android sailed out of sight. Birch didn't know if the android would survive that hit but he hoped the android was gone for good.

Hulk turned to the remaining drones. They seemed to stare for a moment before they ran. All of them ran to the edge of the city and started to fly into the air.

" They're trying to leave the city. " Thor said.

" We can't let them escape. Not even one. Rhodey, " Tony called into his comm. War Machine came up from the other side of the city.

Rhodey began to destroy the drones, bullets went flying from one of the many weapons on his suit. Vision was there too, helping destroy the drones. Rhodey was very confused.

Birch turned his attention from the two and looked at Steve. The Captain began to talk, " We've gotta move out. Even I can tell the air is getting thin. You've got to get it the boats. I'll get the stragglers. " Steve looked behind him, as if expecting a drone to be right behind him.

" What about the core? " Clint asked.

Wanda was the one to speak up, " I'll protect it. " Clint liked at Wanda, surprised and obviously ready to argue. Wanda spoke again, " It's my job. " Those words seemed to hold some sort of hidden meaning between the Archer and teenager. Clint nodded.

" Nat, let's go. " Natasha nodded and began to go with Clint to head to the carriers. Steve headed off to do his own job.

Birch glanced around the place. Wondering where Pietro had gone off to. Wanda looked at hher friend, " Birch I- "

Pietro suddenly ran into the church. He almost seems to trip over the destroyed remains of the drone. It made Birch think if Pietro could actually trip, with his super speed it seems impossible.

Wanda and Pietro had already talked to each other over the mental link. Wanda said, " You two get the people on the boats. "

" I'm not going to leave you here. " Pietro argued stubbornly.

" I can handle this. " A drone suddenly rushed in but was immediately destroyed by Wanda. Pietro nodded in admitted defeat. " Come get me after anyone is off the city. Not before. You understand? "

Pietro seemed extremely conflicted. Birch could feel his emotions via the mental link. Pietro's thoughts raced faster than a regular man's.

Pietro smiled half heartedly, " You know I'm twelve minutes older than you? "

Wanda managed to put on a smile. " Go. Both of you. "

Pietro looked at Wanda for a moment before he ran off. Birch made his way out of the church in a slower fashion, reluctant to leave Wanda behind.


	11. The farm

Birch climbed to one of the highways. He looked for any citizens that could have been missed. It didn't seem like anyone was being left behind. He saw Pietro run through several buildings. He heard the Hulk roar from behind him.

Birch kicked a piece of rubble off the highway. They were finally winning. At least it seemed they were. He couldn't let his guard down though, nothing was as it seems. Even if things looked like they were going their way.

He jumped off the highway easily. Landing close to the carriers that were about to carry the citizens to safety. He saw Steve and Thor standing a few meters away. Birch heard a jet from above. He looked up just when the jet began to fire on them.

Birch managed to create a shield on his forearm. He felt several bullets bounce off the shield. One bullet went right through his left leg. It seared through his femur, shattering it. Hot white pain burned in his leg. Birch collapsed with a yelp.

When the shower of bullets passed him Birch looked behind him. Clint was holding a child in his arms. He looked at the incoming bullets with a look of acceptance. He crouched down to the ground and covered the boy.

The bullets never hit Clint. He disappeared from his spot on the street in a streak of blue. No.

Birch felt the pain of bullets going mercilessly through his body through his mental link with Wanda and Pietro. Birch could feel Pietro's scattered thoughts as his body started to shut down.

Pietro stood for a moment. His body full of bloody bullet holes. He managed to say one thing, " You didn't see that coming? " Then he fell.

Birch commanded his nanites to make a jet pack on him. He quickly lifted off the ground, ignoring the pain in his leg. He flew over to Pietro and gently lowered himself to the ground. Birch put a hand immediately on Pietro's neck, checking for a pulse. It was gone.

Pietro's eyes looked lifelessly ahead. Birch felt grief wash over him. He felt Wanda screaming in agony. Birch howled as loudly as he could. It was the loudest sound he had made in a while.

Birch's howl was chilling and pain filled. Clint could hear the howl echo around the city. It went one for a few moments before the boy stopped. Clint rushed over to Pietro and check for a pulse, a fruitless action but a comforting one for Clint.

Steve ran over to them. He looked down at Pietro grimly. Clint glanced up at them, he gave Steve no comfort. Pietro was gone.

 _" Pietro, please answer me! I can't go on without you brother. Please.. "_ Wanda cried for her brother.

Steve bent down to pick up the boy Clint had saved from the market. Clint put a hand on Birch's shoulder, noticing the his grief.

Birch looked up, his icey blue eyes oddly shiny. Clint looked him in the eyes. " You going be OK? " It was honestly wasn't the best question. One of Birch's only friends had died. But Clint's father instincts kicked in.

He noticed the pool of blood under Birch. Birch was putting all of his weight on his right leg. His left leg was a bloody mess. His leg was bleeding nonstop. Clint saw the jet pack on Birch's shoulders, a smart way to move without risking putting weight on his injured leg. It seemed like a bullet went through Birch's femur.

Birch stared blankly at Clint. He of course couldn't verbally answer. " Look we need to get you to the carriers. You need to get that leg fixed. Come on. "

Birch activated his jetpack and lifted off the ground. He winced as he leg was jostled. The boy watched as Clint picked Pietro's body up. He reluctantly followed Clint to the carriers.

He could feel Wanda's hatred aimed at Ultron. He himself hated Ultron more than he had before. He wanted revenge.

Steve looked around, scanning the area. He lifted the little boy he was holding, higher into his arms. He said, " Birch, can you bring this boy back to safety? "

Birch nodded and carefully took the little boy from Steve's arm. The little boy gasped as he went into unfamiliar arms. Birch looked down at him. Birch then made his way into one of the carriers.

Birch gave the little boy back to his mother. The mother cried and thanked Birch repeatedly. He saw Clint gently lay Pietro's body to the floor. Birch's heart clenched as he was reminded of his friend's death. Clint collapsed onto a row of chairs, exhausted.

Birch sat down in one of the chairs. He looked down at his bloody leg. The jetpack disappeared from his shoulders, the jet pack turned back into millions of individual nanites.

Birch studied his injured leg. For any normal person they would have to immediately go and have surgery done to fix their leg. But Birch wasn't a normal person. He knew how to fix his leg.

Back when Birch was still being trained by Maru, they had taught him many things. But they never taught him medical abilities. They didn't see the point. For some reason Birch had known things that a doctor would. Like how to take care of a fever or how to respond when a person is having a seizure. Birch had a feeling that the knowledge had come from his past. It was the only thing he had managed to keep in him that was from before his capture.

Wanda gasped awake. She immediately mentally reached for Pietro's mind. She couldn't find it, all she had was an empty feeling. She could faintly hear Birch's mind, through her link.

The last thing she remembered was ripping Ultron's heart out. Then the strange being named Vision saving her.

Wanda looked around. She was in a small room. She felt the minds around her. She felt several survivors in the medical bay, lying on the provided beds. They were being tended to by medics. She was in one of SHIELD's facilitys that the organization had managed to revive.

She sobbed miserably. Pietro was dead. If Pietro was dead, then why was she bothering to be alive?

The room around her shook. The lights started to flicker, objects started to lift into the air. Suddenly anything not nailed down started to swirl dangerously around Wanda. She screamed and cried, not taking notice of the chaos she was creating.

Several men and women ran over to Wanda's room. Alarms began to sound off. Clint ran right to Wanda's room when he heard the alarms. He managed to push through the crowd and opened the door.

His head almost got ripped off by a tray. Wanda was curled up in a ball, crying in the middle of the vortex of objects. Clint felt her agony in waves, Wanda was unknowingly projecting her feelings.

" Wanda! Wanda, please calm down! " Clint shouted out. Wanda didn't show any sign that she heard him.

Tony suddenly appeared behind Clint. " What the heck is happening? " He had just finished a call when the alarms started to go off. He thought they were getting attacked at first.

" She - she's not taking her brother's death well. We need to calm her down before she rips this place apart. "

" Oh, crap.. " Tony muttered.

Wanda buried herself deeper on her arms. She wanted to die.

 _" Wanda! Wanda you must stop. You're going to destroy this place if you don't calm down. "_ A male voice called in the mental link. The voice was young and slightly deep with a thick Sokovian accent.

Wanda sucked in a shaky breath. _" What - w-who're you? "_ She was so distressed that she just didn't use her powers to find out the owner of the voice.

 _" I know you're hurting. You want you're brother to be alive. You want him back. I know you want to die, so you can be with him. But I know you, you're stronger than this. You can overcome you're brother's death. The want to die will eventually leave as you recover. I know the feeling. Wanda, I know you're brother wouldn't want you to be like this. You know that too. "_ The voice said.

Wanda felt herself calming down. The storm around her was lessening. The voice's words hit her hard. The voice was right, Pietro wouldn't want her to be like this. She wouldn't of wanted her brother to react this violently if she had died.

The voice was surprisingly very soothing. Maybe because of the familiar Sokovian accent it had. Or because the voice seemed to understand her very well, knowing what to say to calm her down.

The storm around Wanda began to slow down. _" Who are you? "_

 _" It's me Wanda. It's Birch. "_ The voice said. Wanda gasped out in surprise. Birch had never mentally talked to her or Pietro. He had only sent them feelings to communicate. She had never heard his voice until now.

Birch was silent. Wanda hesitantly called out for him, " _Birch? "_

 _" You'll be okay Wanda. "_ Birch said before he went silent.

Clint watched in amazement as the swirling storm around Wanda slowed down. Then it suddenly stopped. The archer wasted no time and rushed into the room.

He heard Wanda still sniffing. He wrapped his arms around her gently. She let Clint embrace her with no resistance. He whispered comforts into Wanda's ear. He didn't know if Wanda had heard him but she did stop shaking.

Clint could hear Tony in the background telling the agents to disperse. Tony came up from behind him and tapped his shoulder.

" Hey, is she okay now? " Tony asked with concern lacing his tone.

Clint looked down at Wanda. He almost shrugged in response. " I think she'll be better now. "

The genius nodded thoughtfully. He backed out of the room, unsure of what to do. He very well knew of Wanda's dislike of him. He didn't know what her feelings were about him anymore. He just felt like him being there wasn't going to help.

Birch sat alone in his own private room. He was told to stay in the room to allow his leg to heal. He took slow deep breathes. He had just managed to calm Wanda down and stopped her from destroying the place.

He knew sending comforting feelings wouldn't work. He probably didn't have any good feelings to send to her anyways. He had to do one thing that he never done.

He talked to her. Mentally of course. Birch was surprised at the sound of his own voice. It was more different than he imagined. He honestly didn't feel too comfortable using his voice. He felt like it wasn't his anymore.

Birch looked down at his leg. It was wrapped in bandages and was already close to fully healing. The doctors in the facility were amazed at his accelerated healing. Birch was glad they had chosen to leave him alone.

He heard light footsteps coming his way. From what he could tell it was Steve. There was a light knock on the door and it was open. Steve poked his head in.

" I just wanted to inform you that Wanda is okay. What about you? " Steve asked.

Birch shrugged and crossed his arms. He was still wearing his favored black and red striped hoodie. It had emerged from the battle without a tear. His pants weren't so lucky.

Steve nodded and placed his hands on his belt. " I know what it's like to lose a friend. The pain fades but it sometimes doesn't go away. You just have to try to adjust. To adapt. "

Birch stared at Steve and took in the super soldier's words. He gave Steve a half-hearted crooked smile.

Wanda had eventually fallen asleep. Clint left the room when he was sure she was okay.

Clint quietly closed the door behind him. Clint sighed and tiredly rubbed his eyes. He walked to where he knew Tony would be and hopefully Steve. Natasha had needed some time alone but Clint hoped she would be there too.

Tony was a bit sore as he sat down into the chair. He was in his temporary lab, he had to make some repairs to his suit. Clint walked in and sat down, he looked tired. Steve came in a few moments later. Tony saw Natasha hanging around in the shadows.

Clint was the first to speak. " I've been thinking about the kids. "

Tony snorted. " They're hardly kids. Wanda is an adult and Birch is technically older than he physically appears. "

" You know what I mean Stark. They're practically are kids. To me at least. You have seen what this battle had done to them. Wanda is an emotional mess and Birch is probably bottling up his feelings. What I'm trying to say is they need a place where they can recover. I know that the two kids are Avengers. Vision, Rhodey and Sam including. " Clint argued. He swiveled a little bit in his chair.

" He's right. But where would they go? Stay here or what? " Steve asked, rubbing his chin.

" They can stay at my tower. Once I'm done making the new base they can stay at my tower. "

" No I don't think that's a good idea. "

Natasha crossed her arms. She quietly said, " What about your farm, Clint? It's the perfect environment. "

" But wouldn't that put Clint's family in danger? " Steve said.

Clint raised a hand, deep in thought. " That's actually a good idea. I'll just have to make sure Laura would be okay with it. "

Birch and Wanda had stayed in SHIELD's facility for a few days. Birch had taken off the bandages from his leg when he knew it healed well enough. It was still a little sore but it was healed. Wanda had gotten significantly better than she had when she first woke up. She was still quiet and guarded.

Birch was surprised when Clint came into his room. Clint grinned at him. " Time to get up kid. You're getting out of this place. "

Birch followed him with only a questioning look. Clint grimly noticed that Birch had a small limp. The archer led Birch to a jet. Wanda was already inside the jet. She gave Birch a small hug.

Clint had already explained his plans to the two of them. Wanda was unsure and scared at meeting Clint's family. Birch didn't show any emotion and only shrugged. The boy seemed to do a lot of indifferent shrugging.

Clint flew the jet secretly to his farm. He could hear Wanda and Birch converse quietly to each other. Well it was only Wanda talking but Birch seemed to communicate to her somehow. Either that or Wanda was just talking to herself, which Clint hoped wasn't happening.

Clint landed the jet onto his front lawn. He saw Laura and the kids come out of the house.

Laura had run up to the jet and was waiting for Clint. " Oh Clint I'm so glad you're glad you're okay! " She looked over Clint's shoulder to see Birch and Wanda.


	12. Squealing babies

Laura stared at the two before she rushed over to them. She wrapped her arms around Wanda and said, " Oh thank you for keeping my husband safe! Especially thanks to your brother for saving his life. I'm sorry about his death. " She smiled sadly at her.

Wanda nervously hugged Laura back. Wanda softly said," It's nice to meet you Mrs. Barton. " Laura released Wanda after a few seconds.

" You can call me Laura. " She turned to see Birch. " And this much be Birch. Thank you both for saving the world. " Laura reached over and pulled Birch into a hug. The boy had tensed and had to hunch down because of Laura's smaller form. When Laura finished hugging him Birch let out a soft bark in greeting.

Clint grinned. It seemed that they were going well together. He clapped his hands together, " Alright, time to meet the kids. Come on. " He quickly lead the way to the front porch.

Lila and Cooper were already waiting for them. " Dad! Dad! " They both yelled out in unison.

Clint let them both jump into his arms. " Hey, great to see you guys! How's it been since I left? "

" It was fine but Mom was worried about you. " Cooper said. Clint knew that Laura always had worried about him. He always felt guilty making her worry every time he left for a mission.

Lila tugged at her father's shirt. " Hey Daddy guess what? "

" What? "

" The school dance is coming soon! Mommy already got me a really pretty dress. "

Clint smiled, " Oh really? I suppose you have a date already. "

" Not yet. "

" Well can I be your date? " Clint said hopefully.

Lila giggled, " You can't silly. It has to be a boy. "

Clint raised his eyebrows. " Really? Well, why don't you two greet our two guests? "

The two kids ran over to Birch and Wanda. The kids bounced around the newcomers excitedly.

" I can't believe superheroes are staying at our house. Again! Is it true you can create a sword with your hand? " Cooper asked Birch.

Lila pointed at Wanda's scarlet jacket. " I like your jacket. "

Wanda smiled. " Oh, thank you. What's your name? "

" Lila. What's your's? "

" Wanda. "

" That's a pretty name. " Wanda blushed at Lila's compliment.

Clint watched as the kids talked with Birch and Wanda. He put an arm around Laura's shoulders. He gave her a quick kiss on the forehead. " How's the baby going? "

" Good. It's not due until two weeks. How're those kids? Wanda seems fragile right now. " Laura leaned against Clint.

Clint sighed and rubbed his eyes. " She definitely has gotten better. But she still has a long way to go. Has frequent nightmares whenever she sleeps. One time she almost destroyed the SHIELD medical bay. Birch had managed to calm her down though. "

" How long do you think they'll need to stay? " Laura asked.

Clint knew that Stark was currently making a new Avengers Headquarters but that would take time. " Maybe a few months. I'm not sure but I know it'll be for awhile. "

Lila had introduced herself to Birch. She grinned saying, " You're cute! " Birch raised his eyebrows in surprise.

Clint frowned at his daughter's words. " Okay she's way too young for boys. I hear that the school dance is coming up and Lila needs a date. And apparently it must be a boy. And now she's calling Birch cute. She's definitely planning something. "

" Clint, you're acting like Lila is a criminal mastermind. "

" You should see her when she tries to trick me into buying her candy. And I bet that dress you got here wasn't cheap. Was it? "

Laura smiled. She placed a hand on her stomach. " Maybe. "

Everyone had eventually made it into the house. Wanda gazed around the house. " You have a nice home. Thank you for letting us stay here. " She wouldn't of wanted to stay at the SHIELD facility. It was too sterile and it also reminded her of Hydra.

Wanda looked at the Barton family. She had felt the gentle, loving and yet stern mind of Laura. She had also felt Lila's and Cooper's young minds. She tried not to pry into their thoughts. She knew they hated the invasion of privacy.

Birch closed the door behind him. He stood behind Wanda. He had his hands in his hoodie's pockets.

Wanda felt Birch's mind brush against her's. She felt his default sense of controlled emotions. There was also more but Wanda couldn't tell what they were. Her mind wasn't used to having something hidden from it. Her powers allowed her to read minds and read emotions easily. Birch had always seemed to keep his mind shielded from Wanda. She had then subconsciously began to go deeper into Birch's mind.

In Birch's mind there was a flash of alarm. Wanda felt Birch's mind recede away from her's. She suddenly realized what she had attempted to do. Wanda looked behind her to see Birch looking at her. Wanda felt her cheeks burn in shame. She had promised her friend that she wouldn't try to read his mind or even go into it without his permission. She should've had more control in her mind reading abilities.

Maybe she did it because it was a familiar mind. She used to be always linked to Pietro's mind but now he was gone. Her mind must've been trying to fill the void Pietro had left. But no one could replace Pietro.

" Wanda, " Clint called to the young woman. Wanda looked at the archer. " There's a room upstairs that you can use. You okay with that? "

" Yes. Thank you again for letting us stay here. You really don't have to do this. " Wanda said. She and Pietro had always survived together. Pietro had usually refused help from other's because he wanted to take care of Wanda himself. And because he didn't trust many.

" Don't worry about it. We're happy that you two are here. So don't feel like you're intruding. " Laura assured Wanda.

Cooper rubbed his chin, " Since we don't have another extra room Birch can sleep with me. We can finally use my bunk bed. "

Clint glanced over at Birch. " You like that idea? " Birch nodded.

(Time Skip)

Cooper was in bed. After Birch and Wanda had arrived they had dinner. Nothing much happened, they all just had a small conversation.

It was his bedtime and Clint decided to give bed times to Birch and Wanda. Cooper looked at the lights that were on the other side of the door. He heard footsteps heading up the stairs. It was Wanda. Cooper could tell by the way she walked. His dad taught him how to recognize most people by their unique way of walking.

Cooper saw Wanda's feet walk past the doorway.

Cooper wondered if Wanda had read his thoughts when she arrived. She didn't give any indication that she did. Clint had told him and Lila that he made sure Wanda knew not to intrude in people's minds. But Cooper never would know if Wanda read his mind. Would he?

Cooper was waiting for his new roommate. If Wanda was going to sleep then Birch wasn't too far behind. Birch's way of walking was hard to remember. Cooper doubted he would remember it by sound. Birch always walked silently but he did have a limp, Cooper had noticed.

Suddenly the door opened and light flooded into the room. Cooper saw Birch's tall figure close the door softly. Cooper saw that Birch's eyes glowed in the dark. Birch jumped up into the top bunk and shifted around for a few moments before becoming still.

Cooper wondered if Birch knew he was awake or not. Cooper looked at the darkness in his and then closed his eyes to sleep.

Laura had insisted on shopping with Wanda. The telepath eventually gave in but wanted the whole Barton family to come. That's when everything went crazy.

Wanda was carrying several bags of clothes with her. Laura had already payed for all of the clothes. They were waiting for the boys to come. They had wandered off to some other section of the store. Laura and Wanda were both impatiently waiting for them.

Laura turned to Wanda and said, " Why don't you bring these bags to the car? I can wait for the boys. "

Wanda started to protest, " But Laura I—" Laura was already pushing Wanda out of the door. Laura's stomach rumbled. -

Birch stared at the man behind him. The man was named Mitchell and was gruff looking and had on a hoodie. The man also had several friends along with him. At least Birch assumed they were Mitchell's friends. Birch didn't think he was at the store to buy stuff.

Then everything went dark. There were a few cries of surprise as the lights went out. Then Mitchell took out a gun and shot out a few bullets to the ceiling. All civilians went to the floor.

Clint told Cooper and Lila to hide behind a rack of clothes. The lights went back on and Mitchell was holding a women hostage. It was Laura. Clint clenched his hands into fists and looked ready to attack Mitchell.

Mitchell warned everyone, " If any of you move, I'll shoot this lady! "

Then Laura's water broke. Laura began to groan but Mitchell only tightened his grip on her. Birch could feel his temper flare as he watched the robber grip Laura.

Then the lights went out again. Mitchell yelled out, " What's going on? I didn't tell anyone to do that! "

Mitchell suddenly felt a chill go down his spine. He looked behind him to see glowing eyes. Then Birch knocked him out not too gently. Mitchell fell to the ground almost taking Laura down with him.

Birch caught Laura and sat her down onto a table. Laura gasped, " Clint the baby is coming now! "

Clint rushed over to Laura. " What? He's early! " He took hold of Laura's hand. " Is anybody a doctor? Someone call an ambulance! "

Birch suddenly appeared next to Clint. The boy created syringe full of clear liquid and injected Laura with it. Clint managed to pull Laura's pants down. Birch silently instructed Clint to elevate Laura's legs. Laura cried out in pain.

Birch let out a soft whine before making sure no one was watching. Some time passed and Clint spent most of it comforting Laura. Then suddenly Laura gave one last heave. She looked relieved.

Birch suddenly held a screaming newborn in his hands. The baby shook his tiny fist and screamed. Birch held the baby a safe distance before giving the baby to Clint.

Wanda was running towards them. She felt horrible that she wasn't there to even help them. Laura could've gotten hurt. She felt the Barton's familiar minds and felt a new one.

Wanda smiled and said, " His mind is beautiful. May I? "

Laura nodded, she was exhausted. She handed Wanda the baby and the young women stared at the baby in awe.

" What're you gonna name him? "

" We were thinking Nathaniel Pietro Barton. "

Wanda looked at Laura and Clint. She had tears in her eyes. " That's perfect. "


	13. Sleep means nightmares

Clint noticed something. Birch was growing. The boy had started to grow taller and definitely looked older. Birch looked more like his actual age. Clint assumed that Birch wouldn't be able to physically age but he stood corrected.

Wanda and Birch had stayed at the Barton home for the whole summer. Now they were heading to the new Avengers headquarters that Tony had finally finished.

Wanda had done some training over the time. She somehow found out how to use her powers to levitate herself off the ground. She fell quite a few times, Birch had to catch her the first time she even tried. But now she seemed to have a good grip on flying, which didn't help comfort Clint because he's seen her try to fly. Most of the times she failed, but as he said before, she was definitely improving.

Clint stood behind Birch and Wanda. He looked at the jet that was ready to take the two new Avengers to the new headquarters. His family had already said their goodbyes but Clint insisted on walking the two personally to the jet.

" Well you two brats better take care of yourselves. Cause if you don't... " Clint warned them as he hug each of them.

Wanda nodded. She actually looked happy since her brother's death. She looked less pale and had a healthy glow to her. Her hair was no longer in a ponytail and was wavy. It made her look even more beautiful. The girls helped Wanda with her hair. " We'll miss you Clint. Of course we'll try to contact you as much as possible. Right Birch? " She turned to Birch and looked up at the taller teen.

Birch nodded and gave Clint a small but genuine smile. Clint noticed that he smiled more often and seemed outgoing. Birch had grown as tall as Steve and in Laura's words, was very handsome. Birch's dark tousled hair had grown out a bit and his ice blue eyes were still chilling.

Clint watched as the two entered the jet. He stayed outside and watched the jet fly out into the distance. He finally sighed and walked back into the house.

Birch leaned back in the chair. Wanda sat in front of him and was reading a new book Laura had given her. Birch formed a rubber ball in his hand and began to bounce it around. He effectively annoyed the pilot.

It had been at last an hour before they landed. When the jet door opened Birch could already see the facility in full view. Agents were running along the grass and Steve was standing outside.

" Welcome. I'm glad you guys are finally here. " Steve shook each of their hands. " Vision and Sam are already here. The others will join soon. Here let me show you the facility. "

Steve showed them through the facility. There were various training rooms and entertainment centers as well. Steve stopped in a hall with doors lining it. " This is where your rooms will be. I'll let you two get cormfortable. "

Steve left the two alone as he left to talk to Clint. Wanda touched the cool wall, she glanced at Birch. He, was of course silent, but he smiled at Wanda.

She smiled back saying, " This place is impressive, yeah? Better home then any I have known for years. " She headed to her room while Birch headed to his.

Wanda's room was empty except for a bed and a drawer. She placed her suitcase down.

" Welcome. " Wanda jumped at the voice.

Vision had phased through the door. He looked at Wanda and said, " I apologize for scaring you. This is new for me as well. "

" I understand. It is good to see you Vision. How have you been? " Wanda politely replied.

Vision tilted his head. " As well as I can be, which is adequate. I was coming here to ask if you would like me to show you the facility. If you want. " Vision looked sheepish and if he were human, would have been blushing.

" That would be nice, thank you. "

Birch set down his very few belongings and glanced around his empty room. He could work with this. He began to put his clothes away in the drawer. He only wore the new clothes Laura had insisted on him buying. The only old thing he had on was his favorite black and red striped jacket.

There was a knock on his door and Birch whirled around, his nanites already forming a weapon. Sam stood in the doorway behind Birch, with his hands raised.

" Woah, dude, I come in peace. No need to get crazy. Please don't stab me. " Sam didn't sound _deathly_ _afraid_ like he should have been, Birch thought with a flicker of annoyance. He looked more amused.

Birch let out a growl before making his weapon disappear. Sam leaned on the doorway with a smirk. Birch ignored him and continued putting his things away.

" I was coming here to see if you would like to checkers. You know - to help build team relationships and stuff. Checkers is a good way to go. At least, that's what I've been told. " Sam rambled on. " You know I even got a new suit. It's all nice and more advanced then before. What about you? You just plan on going casual every time we need to save the world? I'm not judging or anything... "

Sam trailed off when he saw Birch glaring at him. Birch had finished putting everything away and shoved his suitcase under his bed. He felt Sam pat his shoulder.

" Let's go! Let's see who's the better player. " Sam said dragging Birch along with him. The teen let out a noise of annoyance but let the older man drag him along.

They both entered the entertainment center. Sam led them to a two couches with a table between them. He sat down on one while Birch sat down on the opposite. Sam took out the checker board and began to set it up.

Sam looked up and said, " You know how to play? "

Birch nodded remembering how Lila and Cooper taught him how to play. He shifted a little on the couch. Once Sam was done Birch made the first move.

Sam soon learned that he was not very good at checkers. But Birch was definitely better than him. Sam had already lost half of his pieces when Wanda and Vision came in.

Wanda and Vision had walked into the entertainment center to see Sam throw his hands up in exasperation.

" What's happening here? Having fun? " Wanda asked amused.

Vision tilted his head and studied his two other teamates. " It appears that Sam is currently losing against Birch. They're playing with a board... game? Correct? "

Sam shook his head with smile. " I may or may not be losing by a lot to Birch. This game is called checkers, by the way. "

Birch smirked at Sam and leaned back into the couch. Wanda snorted at Sam's bad luck. It appeared that Birch was having fun.

Her tour with Vision was surprisingly fun. The facility was amazing and very much better then Hydra's facility. She already had plans for her room and intended to help Birch with his. If he asked anyways, which she doubted.

She heard footsteps coming from behind. She saw Steve walking over to them. She could feel kindness from him. Wanda hoped she and him would become friends. Especially since he was going to be her leader.

" Hey, guys it's time for dinner. Follow me. " Steve said. " So for dinner we have meatloaf. You'll like it. I like meatloaf myself actually. Of course we have other options if you want anything else. "

They all headed to the dining room. A long table was there with chairs seated around it. Food was placed on top of the table.

Wanda sat down and she saw that Birch say down next to her. Steve sat down at the head of the table. Vision sat down awkwardly in front of Wanda.

(Time Skip)

Wanda laid down onto her bed. The sheets were a dull grey. She was going to have to change them later. She wrapped herself with her sheets and fell asleep later.

She didn't know the full extent of her powers. She was always finding new things she could do with them. Hydra had tested her all the time to try to learn the full extent of her powers.

(Unknown Location)

Wanda snapped her eyes open to see unfamiliar surroundings. But yet it was familiar.

She quickly sat up and scanned her surroundings. She was in... Sokovia? What?!

What... How..? How did she get here? She was certain Sokovia was destroyed in the fight against Ultron. She remembered it was the same day her brother died.

A sharp pain lanced in her heart. It still hurt to think about it.

Building were destroyed around her and she saw the sky completely surrounding her. It was just like the last moments of Sokovia's existence.

A rumble shook the ground. Wanda looked through a hole in the ceiling and saw something unbelievable. A large metal leg walked past her. The leg was attached to a metal body. It was very big Ultron. But Wanda thought he was destroyed. Well she also thought Sokovia was destroyed but here she was. BUT last time she remembered Ultron wasn't a huge robot.

" I've got no strings.. " Ultron's voice rumbled from above.

Wanda had forgotten how much she hated the android. How much she hated the killer of her brother. And many more innocent people died because of Ultron.

Suddenly Ultron looked down and saw Wanda. " Well, well, well. If it isn't Wanda. How do you like it if I smash you? Would that be okay? " Ultron laughed evilly before trying to smash Wanda with his foot.

 _Oh SHI—!_ Wanda thought before using her powers to dodge. She slammed herself into rubble. She groaned and stood. Ultras laughed once more before attacking.

Wanda heard someone scream -maybe it was her- and jumped out of the way again. She needed help. She couldn't defeat this Ultron by herself. She needed help. She needed the Avengers.

Ultron struck the ground with such force the ground shook. It felt like an earthquake. Wanda felt dust billow over her like a cloud. She fell and hid inside a building.

" Where are you? Come out. " Ultron said as he scanned the area for Wanda.

Wanda reached out with her powers. She needed to find help. Surely someone must be around. She could faintly sense someone's mind close by. She tugged fiercely at it.

She suddenly got a vision. Guns, the sounds of blades turning and screaming. Wanda gasped before she saw Sam lying on his back in front of her. He gasped loudly before sitting up.

" Wh-where am I? Wanda? What's going on? " Sam asked as he sat up. He looked very confused. Wanda didn't blame him, she herself had no idea what was happening.

Wanda helped Sam stand up. " I - don't know for sure. But I do know that I called you here. I need your help to defeat Ultron. "

Sam squinted his eyes at her. " But isn't Ultron already dead? "

Speak of the devil and he shall appear. Ultron's hand burst through the roof of the building and grinned at them. " Well there you are! " Ultron grabbed at the two heroes. Sam flew into the air, grabbing Wanda's arm and escaping.

" Look you said that you called me here to help you. That's great and all but can you bring in some more people? This is so crazy! " Sam dodged Ultron's incoming hand. He flew up high and landed at the top of a skyscraper.

Wanda thought for a second. Could she call in more Avengers? She didn't know. But she had to try. Wanda felt her mind reach out for others.

She felt familiar minds. Like Steve's and Natasha's. In the distance she felt another mind, it was far away. Purposely shielding itself from her's. It must've been Birch's.

Wanda felt for Steve's mind. The super soldier was asleep. That was good. It would him easy to pull him in. She grabbed his mind and pulled him in. Wanda received a vision of gunfire, explosions and lasers.

(Birch's Room)

Birch was curled into a ball and was asleep. He had made his bed into a strange nest of blankets and his jacket. He turned on his side and sighed in content. He was comfortable during his first day at the new facility. He had suspected that it would have been hard to fall asleep but he fell asleep pretty quickly.

His sleep was dreamless. He just existed in a dark void. Flashes of nightmares came and went but Birch was determined not to let them ruin his sleep.

It was still strange to be friends with people that were once his enemies. Yes Clint was once his enemy too but the archer was different. When Birch first met Clint, he wrote off Clint as not much of a threat. The man was pretty useless without his bow and arrows, Birch had thought. Turned out he was wrong.

Living with Steve and Natasha was different because he didn't know them. He didn't have much interacted with them. Not as much as Birch had with Clint. It was going to take a while for him to get used to it. He knew that.

Birch suddenly felt a tug on his mind. He of course resisted. But his efforts weren't enough.

(Unkown Location)

Wanda threw a chunk of concrete at Ultron's leg. The chunk of concrete embedded itself into the metal leg.

She heard Steve grunt as he was knocked to the ground. Ultron had struck him with his left foot. Steve looked up grimly at Ultron's evil grin.

" Wanda! " Steve called. " Do you have any idea how to defeat this Ultron? We are not enough! "

Wanda dodged Ultron's lasers. She knew that four Avengers were not enough to defeat a huge android. She needed to call in someone who could fight Ultron on even grounds. Someone like... Birch! Crap. This was going to be hard.

Wanda searched for Birch's mind. She felt his mind for a second. He was asleep she could tell by the way it hummed quietly. She could feel the calm auro he always had around him.

She pulled at his mind, he resisted. She expected that she wasn't going to give Birch much of an option. Pulling fiercely she felt Birch finally give up and allow himself to be pulled.

Wanda once again received a vision. This vision was from Birch's mind. She had to enter his mind in order to bring him in. She saw lights swinging past her and saw cruel hands tearing at her. She suddenly felt something sharp digging in her back before the vision ended.

There was a loud thump as something big landed on the floating city. Ultron suddenly turned his head away from the Avengers. A large figure, about Ultron's size, was laying a few hundred feet away from them. Suddenly the figure moved revealing a very large Birch.

He stood up and glanced around. Confused by his surroundings. He spotted Ultron and his eyes narrowed in hate and recognition. Birch growled and attacked.

Birch's hand changed into a plasma cannon and shot at Ultron. Ultron grunted as the cannon melted some of his chest.

Ultron rubbed annoyed at his chest. Before jumping into the air. He tackled Birch and the two grappled for what seemed to be forever.

Birch managed to stand up. Ultron was lying on the ground severely injured. His body sparked and was melting at the same time. Birch formed a sword in his and and thruster it down. Right into Ultron's head.

Right then everyone woke up.


End file.
